46-year NFL employee Pete Abitante takes buyout package
Pete Abitante worked for the NFL for 46 years. He never had another job.
Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, Abitante was one of roughly 60 employees who elected to take the recent voluntary buyout.
That means, under the terms of the offers, three weeks of pay for each year of services. He'll get 138 weeks of pay.
“I’ve been incredibly fortunate,” Abitante told Fischer. “It’s just incredible. I pinch myself. I remember getting off the elevator at 410 Park [Ave.] for the first time there and it’s like a new car -- you remember the smell and all that stuff. I’ve had a pep in my step ever since. It’s just the place I love.”
He said he hadn't given serious consideration to retirement until the buyout offer arrived.
“I haven’t been dissatisfied with a thing,” Abitante (who is following NFL general counsel Jeff Pash in the attached photo) said. “Just you get long in the tooth, and say, ‘Is there anything next for me out there?’ I’ve still got a lot of energy, good health, but I’m 68. So what else do you want to do if there is anything?"
He can now do it. He'll get paid for nearly three years to do it. After that many years of loyal service to the NFL, he deserves it.
