Everything was going so, so good in the NFL. Until it wasn't. The good times came to an abrupt end... and Don Majkowski has been fighting for his life ever since.
Boy, Tyler, I like your work. This is just excellent reportage. Your stories on the post-football life of these extraordinary athletes are highly informative and deeply moving. Thanks for your work.
Great two-piece story. Majkowski was electric and set the stage for what has been an incredible run for the Packers franchise. It's hard to describe how electric he made the franchise seem.
Thank you for writing this. It takes a lot of time to get these kinds of relationships and produce these kinds of stories.
What should an NFL fan do when it's obvious they owners do not care for retirees?
It's really hard to comprehend the weakness of the NFLPA. The players union seems no better than the union grocery stores workers join just for the chance to make little more than minimum wage. The value of the NFLPA for its members compared to MLB and NBA unions is minimal. Somehow they can't even manage to gain guaranteed contracts, which is the standard in every other sport. It's ridiculous.
What a great read. So sad how these players who bring in all the big bucks for these owners, get forgotten in the end when life gets tough. I’m a Depew girl so this story hit home.
From what I understand, the Owners and Players split league revenues, so it's not just the League "doing this" to the retirees, but also the Players not wanting to give up a piece of the pie. That said, it's really unconscionable that the NFL can't be a little more generous. On the other hand, 4 years of High School football, 4 years of College football, and any other active sports did not contribute; not to mention just getting older - we all fall apart to some degree?
Tyler, Great piece of sports journalism here. The Malik Man was truly magic for all of us long-suffering fans who grew up in Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay but spent decades in the abyss until that magical 1989 season. Thank you for letting Don Majkowski’s fans reconnect with his life after all these years.
Great article Tyler! The ‘89 season was great. Most fans do not remember how GREAT Majkowski played that year. He was a special talent. Your article confirms that he was never the same player after his shoulder injury from that dirty play in Arizona. Although I believe NFL rules have gone too far to protect QB’s, rules were absolutely inadequate in his era. Too many quarterbacks were beat up after the ball was gone. Thank you. And Don, please do know that many of us remember your greatness.
Don “Majik Man” was part of that 89 team that originally brought back pride and hope to Packer nation after so many bad years! That was one of my favorite years as a fan. We all had the mullet going trying to be like Majkowski. Is there any kind of fund for these retired players to help them out?
I remember seeing a video of all that Jim Otto, former Raider great, had to go through just to get out of bed in the morning. I sort of chalked it up to him being a lineman, but reading this reminded me of why I didn't play football in high school; it hurts too much.
I really wonder how Majik would have done with the Pack after '89 had the injuries not popped up. Could he have gotten the Pack to the playoffs? Probably. Super Bowl? Nope, not under Infante and Bratz. It was only their return to being a losing team in '90-'91 that led to Wolf being brought in which lead to Holmgren and then Favre and Reggie. Now, could Majik gotten to a Super Bowl under Holmgren and Wolf? That is a good question. If healthy, maybe. But one of Favre's incredible attributes, obviously, was his ability to stay healthy (and play with various injuries).
Man, I greatly appreciate you all for reading and the kind words here. We'll keep doing stories like this.
All those fans that complain about how the NFL has changed, how it is too protective of QBs should read this article.
Boy, Tyler, I like your work. This is just excellent reportage. Your stories on the post-football life of these extraordinary athletes are highly informative and deeply moving. Thanks for your work.
Great two-piece story. Majkowski was electric and set the stage for what has been an incredible run for the Packers franchise. It's hard to describe how electric he made the franchise seem.
Thank you for writing this. It takes a lot of time to get these kinds of relationships and produce these kinds of stories.
What should an NFL fan do when it's obvious they owners do not care for retirees?
It's really hard to comprehend the weakness of the NFLPA. The players union seems no better than the union grocery stores workers join just for the chance to make little more than minimum wage. The value of the NFLPA for its members compared to MLB and NBA unions is minimal. Somehow they can't even manage to gain guaranteed contracts, which is the standard in every other sport. It's ridiculous.
What a great read. So sad how these players who bring in all the big bucks for these owners, get forgotten in the end when life gets tough. I’m a Depew girl so this story hit home.
great job tyler, keep up the great work
Great Read, TD! Loved Majik!
From what I understand, the Owners and Players split league revenues, so it's not just the League "doing this" to the retirees, but also the Players not wanting to give up a piece of the pie. That said, it's really unconscionable that the NFL can't be a little more generous. On the other hand, 4 years of High School football, 4 years of College football, and any other active sports did not contribute; not to mention just getting older - we all fall apart to some degree?
Just came across this article. Great job. I know Don is still struggling. Do you stay in touch? I'm really rooting for this guy.
Tyler, Great piece of sports journalism here. The Malik Man was truly magic for all of us long-suffering fans who grew up in Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay but spent decades in the abyss until that magical 1989 season. Thank you for letting Don Majkowski’s fans reconnect with his life after all these years.
Great article Tyler! The ‘89 season was great. Most fans do not remember how GREAT Majkowski played that year. He was a special talent. Your article confirms that he was never the same player after his shoulder injury from that dirty play in Arizona. Although I believe NFL rules have gone too far to protect QB’s, rules were absolutely inadequate in his era. Too many quarterbacks were beat up after the ball was gone. Thank you. And Don, please do know that many of us remember your greatness.
Don “Majik Man” was part of that 89 team that originally brought back pride and hope to Packer nation after so many bad years! That was one of my favorite years as a fan. We all had the mullet going trying to be like Majkowski. Is there any kind of fund for these retired players to help them out?
I remember seeing a video of all that Jim Otto, former Raider great, had to go through just to get out of bed in the morning. I sort of chalked it up to him being a lineman, but reading this reminded me of why I didn't play football in high school; it hurts too much.
I really wonder how Majik would have done with the Pack after '89 had the injuries not popped up. Could he have gotten the Pack to the playoffs? Probably. Super Bowl? Nope, not under Infante and Bratz. It was only their return to being a losing team in '90-'91 that led to Wolf being brought in which lead to Holmgren and then Favre and Reggie. Now, could Majik gotten to a Super Bowl under Holmgren and Wolf? That is a good question. If healthy, maybe. But one of Favre's incredible attributes, obviously, was his ability to stay healthy (and play with various injuries).
This is just so heartwrenching. There will never be another Majik Man. After reading this article, I think NFL should stand for “No F-ing Loyalty”