Retired NFL player Eugene Daniel served as a Player Representative for the Indianapolis Colts from 1990-91 and 1994-95. He played corner for 14 years (1984-97), including 13 years with Indianapolis and one year with the Baltimore Ravens. The 47-year-old Baton Rouge, La., native talks about player rights today and what he misses more than his Monday paycheck.


ON BEING A PLAYER REP, IN HINDSIGHT: It was a big deal, an important role. You’re the link between the union and the players, but you’re also between the players and the owners. There are a lot of decisions to be made about representing players. Often, players were misinformed. You would have people outside the union feeding information to the players that was incorrect. You can’t make a decision if you don’t have the facts.


ON TODAY’S ESCALATING PLAYER SALARIES: I remember in ’85 we drafted a player who made a tackle and was seriously hurt on his very first play. He never played football again. I’d challenge anyone to tell me the proper price for him to play that one moment. To me, what the players are making now is fair. They’re making what they’re worth. I think to go backwards would be a huge mistake.


ON PLAYER RIGHTS THEN VS. NOW: When I entered the league, I used to hear older guys say they couldn’t go to their own doctor, they couldn’t get a second opinion, they didn’t have rights when they got hurt. Now, players have all kinds of rights from collective bargaining. The league is better today than it’s ever been in terms of player rights.


ON MISSING TEAMMATES: Being retired, I miss the guys in the locker room. We all come from different places, and you get to know a guy and his family and his kids. When your career is over, there’s only a couple guys you stay in touch with. The other guys you have no idea what happened to them. I miss that part more than I miss getting paid on Monday.