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Eric
08-10-2006, 03:02 PM
Kramer, Mastro Auctions team up to help indigent retired NFLers
Submitted by Babe Waxpak on Wed, 08/09/2006 - 18:41.
Scripps news

Former Green Bay Packers guard Jerry Kramer is teaming with www.MastroAuctions.com in an effort to help retired pro footballers who are disadvantaged or indigent due to inadequate pension and disability compensation.
Many retirees played before the league boomed, sending salaries and retirement packages skyrocketing.
The signature kickoff event will be the “The Shirt Off Your Back” auction, which will occur the week prior to the 2007 Super Bowl.
The premise is simple. Auction organizers will ask past and present NFL greats for game-used equipment, awards and other mementos. If the auction is a success, promoters hope they’ll have more than $1 million for those needy former NFLers. The Gridiron Greats Relief Fund was announced at The National card show Anaheim a couple of weeks ago.
Several high profile ex-NFL stars have committed to being part of “The Shirt Off Your Back” auction, including Merlin Olsen, Bart Starr, Mike Ditka, Deacon Jones, Willie Davis, Paul Hornung and many more. “Dozens of former players have offered their help on this project and we feel their participation is a great way to help those players who made the game of football what it is today,” said Kramer.
A press release announcing the venture said “The idea to start the fund came after Kramer’s missing Super Bowl I ring materialized in a Mastro Auctions’ sale in April. The auction house returned the ring to Kramer once it learned the item was stolen from Kramer 25 years earlier. After returning the original, the two decided to auction Kramer’s replica ring to raise money for these players. It sold for $22,000, nearly double the amount experts predicted. The cause itself is dear to Kramer who has witnessed the crippling effect a lack of financial support has had on former players he knows personally.
“Its funny how this partnership developed,” the release quoted Kramer as saying. “It started out with my frustration in trying to get my Super Bowl ring back but then it turned into this opportunity to assist some of the retired players who helped build the league into what it is today. By partnering with Mastro Auctions on the Gridiron Greats fund, we are lending a hand to the guys who need it most.”
“This auction is a unique opportunity for collectors to acquire significant items directly from the player’s hands,” said Doug Allen, president and COO of Mastro Auctions. “Not only are they purchasing a piece of football history but they’re also making a contribution to players from the game’s early years who are struggling. We were shocked to find out that there are former NFL players making as little as $200 per month. This is a chance to help them get their lives back on track.”
Updates on the auction should be available by visiting jerrykramer.com and mastroauctions.com in the coming months.