NFL Hall of Famers Carl Eller, Franco Harris, Marcus Allen and Paul Crause filed a motion asking U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson to halt the mediation she ordered between the NFLPA and NFL Owners, and order that neither party can negotiate on behalf of the retired players. The retired players fear that the NFL Owners and current players are conspiring to dilute the retired players' benefit amount as a way to come to an agreement on how to split the $9 billion in revenue. Previously, the retired players and their legal representatives had been involved in the earlier mediation sessions, but as the mediation venue has changed, and as the NFLPA and players get closer to an agreement, the retired players have been excluded from the recent negotiations. The complaint alleges:
'Through the settlement they are forging, the Brady plaintiffs, the NFLPA and the NFL defendants are conspiring to set retiree benefits and pension levels at artificially low levels[.]'
