Editing Gene Upshaw (section)

==NFLPA career==
Upshaw was an active member of the bargaining committee for the [[National Football League Players' Association]] (NFLPA) throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.  He led the NFLPA in its unsuccessful strike in 1987 and through years of [[antitrust]] litigation against the league, including a brief period in which the NFLPA became a professional association rather than a union, that ended with the union's acceptance of a [[salary cap]] in return for free agency and an enhanced share of league revenues for the union's members.  Until his death, he was the executive director of the association.

In an infamous 1987 incident during labor negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA, [[Dallas Cowboys]] president and general manager [[Tex Schramm]] told Upshaw, "Gene, here's what you have to understand: we're the ranchers and you're the cattle, and we can always get more cattle."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/how-players-won-nfl-lockout/|title=How Players Won the NFL Lockout|last=Meggyesy|first=David|date=July 27, 2011|work=[[The Nation]]|access-date=October 28, 2017|archive-date=October 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030003928/https://www.thenation.com/article/how-players-won-nfl-lockout/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-22-me-upshaw22-story.html|title=Raider star later led NFL players union |last=Johnson|first=Greg|date=August 22, 2008|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=October 28, 2017}}</ref>

He alienated many retired players after comments he made in response to 325 former AFL and NFL players receiving minimal retirement benefits.  When the former players attempted to have the NFL and the NFLPA consider their plight, Upshaw responded: "The bottom line is I don't work for them. They don't hire me and they can't fire me. They can complain about me all day long. They can have their opinion. But the active players have the vote."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?a=top_lh&id=56338|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827210035/http://www.insurancenewsnet.com/article.asp?a=top_lh&id=56338|url-status=dead|title=Ex-players say NFL neglects retirees: Hall of Famers: League, union leader fall short in providing benefits|archivedate=August 27, 2008}}</ref>  Upshaw later said he was misquoted and was speaking solely about fellow Hall of Famer [[Joe DeLamielleure]], further saying "A guy like DeLamielleure says the things he said about me; you think I'm going to invite him to dinner? No. I'm going to break his damn neck."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2007-07-08-sw-retirees_N.htm|title=NFL retirees feel forgotten as fight for benefits rages|last=Colston|first=Chris|date=August 13, 2007|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=August 21, 2008}}</ref> While Upshaw's comments were true on the letter of the NFL's benefit rules—the NFLPA is charged with the union rights of active players, and any matters dealing with retirees are subject to negotiations between the NFLPA and the NFL Management Council—they were badly received by both former and current players, fans, and the media. Prior to his death, a campaign was allegedly being led by Ravens kicker [[Matt Stover]] to oust Gene Upshaw as head of the NFLPA; however, all parties have denied such a plan.  Stover along with a number of other players claim to have only been seeking a definite succession plan in order to avoid a drawn-out and messy transfer of power such as Upshaw's death has seen realized.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=3545830|title=NFLPA director Upshaw, 63, dies of cancer|date=August 21, 2008|website=ESPN.com}}</ref> Tennessee Titans center [[Kevin Mawae]], president of the NFLPA, issued a statement saying that Stover's opinion did not reflect the opinion of the board of player representatives.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Baltimore kicker Matt Stover wants to oust Upshaw as union head |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story?id=3336417 |work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |date=2008-04-08 |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref>