Steelers Legend’s Son, Forced to Sell Super Bowl Rings After Father Died Broke, Sends Message to Cam Newton

194 touchdowns and 32,382 yards later, Cam Newton stepped away from the gridiron for good. The other side of the grind was where reality resided, one where the same expenses persisted, but with no longer the same income. Bills never stopped, and to quote him, “those things never leave.”

It has been four years since his NFL salary stopped, but cracks were starting to show. Back in January, in a vulnerable moment, Newton admitted that he doesn’t feel like ‘Superman’ to his eight kids anymore. Following this, he dedicated an entire podcast episode in May, accounting for “the brutal math,” as he likes to call it. “It’s the unfortunate truth that a lot of people do go broke or are not able to keep up with the means that they once knew to be life. They want to keep up with the Joneses,” Newton expressed.

On Tuesday, an X account that goes by the name Dov Kleiman posted about Cam Newton’s financial struggles, which sparked an outcry from the son of arguably the best center that’s ever played the game. Many would remember Mike Webster as one who won four Super Bowls with the Steelers, played in nine Pro Bowls, and started 150 consecutive games in a 17-year career in Pittsburgh and Kansas City. But those who really knew Mike know that his was a story of triumph and tragedy. The day he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, everyone hung on to their prayers, hoping Mike would somehow get through his speech. You see, Mike was a broken man with a worsening mental condition, separated from his wife with very little money. Most nights, he’d slept in his truck. He was only 45 at the time.

But as he walked toward the mic, he started what was a rambling yet coherent 21-minute speech. Mike had news to offer to the crowd: He had not sold his Super Bowl Rings. That, however, is no longer true. In response to the X post, Mike’s son Garrett responded with a subtle dig, “My dad was Mike Webster. Played 17 years in the NFL, 4 super bowls, member of 75th and all century team. He died broke, we are on welfare, we receive no pension, and had to sell his Super Bowl rings to pay bills. I’m sorry about Cam, though. #steelers #nfl.

“Two things that I also should explain: when I say welfare, I mean Medicaid, and food stamps, and I do work 35-40 hours a week.” The frustrations were palpable, and understandably so. If you ask Garrett, he does have fainting memories of going into the Steelers locker room, but more fresh will be the memories of the times he had tried to get his father on his feet when football was over. He was the one looking after Mike, often reminding him when to eat or when to shower.

Not only this, but he stuck around to address queries from fans. When asked about how his and Newton’s situations are relatable, Garrett responded, “The point I was trying to make, and perhaps I made it poorly, is that Cam made $133 million during his career. For him to be A) broke or financially struggling is insane B) calling it “heart breaking” is a insult to former players who made 1/10000th of that and face much worse.”

When asked on what account the pension was taken away, Garrett responded, “He died at 50, and my parents recently divorced. Apparently, you need to be 55 and you can’t leave pension to your kids, I guess. We never received a thing.

“They appealed it all the way to the Supreme Court, and the Players Union Head said, ‘Mike Webster’s family should get nothing.’ After 20 years of debt, bills, and lawsuits, we got probably 300-400k split 5 ways with even more bills to pay.” For context, it took his family seven years after Mike filed a disability claim with the league to win a federal appeals court ruling in 2006. Their fight was against the league’s pension plan that had denied Mike an active football disability pension and paid him a lesser benefit. The ruling ultimately resulted in an award of $1.5 million to $2 million to Webster’s four children and former wife.

Beyond the stats and accolades, Webster was revered as a leader, protector of Terry Bradshaw, and a relentless force on the field. Yet, late in life, the impacts of repetitive head trauma led to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease that eventually claimed his life at 50. This was well before the NFL’s concussion settlement cutoff, and the updated pension enhancements took effect. The NFL’s concussion settlement, which awarded billions in compensation for brain injuries, only covered players who died after 2006, with the cut-off date being January 1, 2006. This means that the families of players who died before this date, even with documented brain damage, are generally not eligible for compensation under the settlement. 

The NFL pension system is complex and structured around credited seasons, with players earning specific benefit credits for each year they are on an active roster. The 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement updated these benefits significantly. Depending on the era a player was active, benefit credits range from around $250 to over $800 per credited season. 

Mike Webster’s stories remind us that behind the glitz and glory are real lives affected long after the final whistle, underscoring the urgent need for better support and care for NFL players past and present.