MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark pulled a small plastic bag containing 13 oval-shaped pills, some white, some beige, some translucent orange, out of a duffel bag last weekend, shaking his head. That assortment of supplements, vitamins and medication — which he takes three times daily — costs him $300 to $400 a month.
Clark, a former Redskin, has no spleen or gall bladder, so he has a few special nutritional and medical needs beyond those he considers crucial to keeping his NFL body in mint condition. Yet he’s not the only player amazed at the current price tag on certain items in his personal health and fitness budget.
Cleveland Browns’ offensive tackle Tony Pashosconsiders twice- or thrice-weekly massages crucial to his training routine. But even the most basic rubdown runs him about $180.
With the average NFL salary around $2 million, players acknowledge they have much greater financial resources to weather a work stoppage than the average out-of-work fan. But as the NFL lockout enters it second week, some players are beginning to realize how expensive it will be to maintain their chiseled — and in some cases enormous — physiques to the standard they achieved when they had the run of NFL training facilities and weight rooms, breakfast and lunch spreads, trainers, therapists, physicians, and NFL-funded health-care coverage.