In Re Marriage of Horn

Robert Horn appeals a judgment awarding Cyndee L. Horn a community interest in his severance pay received from the National Football League.

I

The parties married on June 8, 1974, and separated on January 25, 1983. Robert was employed as a professional football player from 1976 to 1984, playing with the National Football League during the 1976 through 1983 seasons and with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League during the 1984 season. After the 1984 season, he was released from the Generals, and at the time of trial (Aug. 1984), was unemployed.

In 1982, the National Football League Players Association (Union) and the management of the National Football League (NFL) added a “severance pay” provision to their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which provides that any player credited with two or more seasons with the NFL is entitled to receive a lump sum of severance pay, computed on how many seasons played with the NFL.

In October 1983, the Union and the NFL entered into a settlement agreement interpreting the severance provision of the CBA. The agreement requires the player send a letter expressing his intention to permanently retire from…