National Football League

John Moffitt: NFL is 'dirty business'

Published Nov. 12, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

Ross Jones

Former Denver Broncos offensive guard John Moffitt blasted the NFL in a FOXSports.com podcast.

“It’s all dirty business and the worst part about it is — all business is dirty business,” Moffitt said on The Peter Schrager Podcast. “Let’s be honest, let’s look at Corporate America and what they try to instill in people, like it’s such a big deal because I leave the NFL. That’s how brainwashed people are with money and a false sense of security, but not only is the NFL dirty corporate America business, but now you’re risking people’s health.”

Moffitt, who retired from the NFL last week, joined the podcast on Tuesday, and opined on the current state of the NFL, the concussion lawsuit and his decision to step away from the game in his prime.

Moffitt, 27, recounts when he suffered a knee injury in 2011 and needed to hire a lawyer for assistance.

“You’re not appropriately taken care of with major injuries,” Moffitt said. “And stuff like that because they don’t want to affect [their] profit margins or whatever else they do.

“I understand the basics and I know if I basically look at this system, there’s something really, really wrong about it.”

Moffitt noted that after he announced his retirement he was tirelessly contacted by the NFLPA. The motive was unclear, but he did say that the players’ union wasn’t supportive of his decision.

“It was pretty interesting. They called me a few times. Some of the stuff they did, just to be blunt I really think they did a terrible job [with my situation]. I can’t really speak to them overall, but I would just say that I probably got called four or five times by them from three different people and I think that’s just odd. No one said anything different every time. There was never anything different said, so you can take that as it is.

"There were things in that conversation that maybe one day I’d like to talk about, but right now is not probably the right time. I would not call the NFLPA an assisting force for me.”

Another issue that draws Moffitt’s concerns is the settlement of the concussion lawsuit between the NFL and its retirees. While the league and the ex-players agreed to a $765 million settlement in August, Moffitt believes that the result is far from fair.

“The NFL is doing more than fine,” Moffitt said. “I think the concussion thing is such a joke. If you look at the settlement and how it worked, they’re going to make that money and how much more in interest over that 20-year payout.”

Moffitt is extremely happy with his decision to retire because he finally started making choices for himself. He admits he lost passion for the game and didn’t want to risk his physical health, just for money.

“The thing that stuck with me was it’s not the big collisions to the head, it’s the consistent every play hits to the head that can really affect you,” Moffit said. “And that’s what an offensive lineman is, just a consistent hit every play.”

Moffitt announced his retirement on Twitter last week after doing some soul searching during the bye week.

"Football was fun but my head hurts-haha kidding roger goodell. I'm on to new things, thanks to everyone along the way!!!"

Emails to the NFL and NFLPA were not immediately returned.