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Smith v. Richardson Sports Ltd. Partners8/2/2005
Richardson Sports Ltd. Partners, d/b/a The Carolina Panthers, et al. ("defendants") present the following issues for our consideration: whether the North Carolina Industrial Commission ("Commission") erred in (I) only allowing defendants a fourteen- week credit, with an approximately $8,000.00 value, for approximately six million dollars in post-injury payments toplaintiff and not allowing a dollar-for-dollar credit for the total amount paid to plaintiff post-injury, (II) awarding plaintiff an automatic right to receive 300 weeks of partial disability benefits, and (III) finding that the $225,000.00 paid to plaintiff pursuant to a contractual injury protection plan represents payments made from revenue designated as "employee revenue" and not funded by the defendants. We affirm the opinion and award in part and remand this case to the Commission for the reasons stated herein.
This is a rare case in which a highly paid individual suffered a compensable injury and occupational disease and received several million dollars after his injury pursuant to his employment contract. In order to determine whether the Panthers were entitled to a credit for the monies paid to plaintiff post-injury requires this Court to interpret and apply N.C. Gen. Stat. ยง 97-42. The application of this statutory provision in the context of a highly paid professional athlete presents an issue of first impression. Unlike the typical workers' compensation cases, cases such as this usually involve complex collective bargaining agreements and individualized player contracts. Thus, the credit issues arising in this context are complicated, and unlike some other states with professional teams, North Carolina does not have a statutespecifically addressing highly paid professional athletes and workers' compensation.
Charles H. Smith, III ("plaintiff"), entered into a contract with defendants on 1 March 2000 to play professional football for the Carolina Panthers ("Panthers") of the National Football League ("NFL"). The contract was scheduled to end on 28 or 29 February 2005, unless the contract was terminated, extended, or renewed as specified by the contract. The contract provided that defendants would pay plaintiff (1) $800,000.00 for the 2000 season, (2) $1,500,000.00 for the 2001 season, (3) $2,700,000.00 for the 2002 season, (4) $3,500,000.00 for the 2003 season, and (5) $4,000,000.00 for the 2004 season. In addition to the salary, plaintiff would receive financial bonuses such as a $4,500,000.00 signing bonus, a $1,000,000.00 roster bonus for each season he was placed on the team's roster starting in 2001, and payments for making public appearances and attending the team mini-camps and workouts. A one-year skill and injury guarantee addendum to the contract provided plaintiff would receive $750,000.00 in 2002 if the team determined plaintiff's skill for performance was unsatisfactory when compared with other players competing for positions on the roster or if plaintiff was unable to pass the team's 2002 preseason physical due to a football-related injury occurring prior to the 2002 season. The Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") between the NFL clubs and the NFL Players Association was also a part of plaintiff's contract, and it contained several benefits, including an injury protectionprovision. Under certain conditions, this provision provides a one-time benefit to injured players during the season after a player's injury. Plaintiff received $225,000.00 under this provision.
Prior to entering into a five-year contract with defendants, plaintiff played football for four years in college and played with the Atlanta Falcons ("Falcons") of the NFL from 1992 until 2000. With the Falcons, plaintiff received awards
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