NFL players have been wearing a patch on their uniforms with the letters GU and the number 63 on it since the start of the 2008 season. The patch was designed to honor the players' former union leader Gene Upshaw, who died of pancreatic cancer prior to the start of that season. Upshaw led the NFL Player's Association (NFLPA) during its most successful period, and was a Hall of Fame guard during his playing career with the Oakland Raiders.
NFLPA President
Upshaw began a lengthy run as president of the NFLPA in 1987. At that point, the Players' Association accepted a salary cap from the NFL owners. Many players thought that the salary cap was a negative, however Upshaw also negotiated that the players would receive 53 percent of designated gross revenues. As a result of Upshaw's negotiations, players went though a period of unprecedented salary growth. Upshaw remained the president of the NFLPA until his death.
Oakland Raiders
An offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders from 1967 through 1981, Upshaw was named to the All-AFL team for the decade of the 1960s. He also played in one AFL All-Star Game along with six NFL Pro Bowls. Additionally, Upshaw was named to the NFL's All-Pro team for the 1970s as well as the league's 75th anniversary team. He played in three Super Bowls for the Raiders in three different decades, and is the only player in league history to accomplish that feat while playing for one team.
Controversial Stance
Upshaw became the center of a controversy late in his career when he refused to advocate for former NFL players who were in need of greater health and medical benefits. He was personally sympathetic to the needs of many former players who had significant medical problems, but Upshaw did not take up their cause because he said he did not represent them. Upshaw's declaration that his role as the president of the NFLPA only gave him the right to represent current players rubbed many former players the wrong way. Shortly before Upshaw's death, he had to withstand several challenges to his attitude and philosophy towards former players.
Sudden Death
Prior to the start of the 2008 season, Upshaw was on a family vacation when his wife noticed that he was having a difficult time breathing. He went to the hospital emergency room and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on August 17, 2008. Three days later, Upshaw died. He was respected by both players and management. Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was on the opposite side of the negotiating table throughout much of Upshaw's tenure as head of the NFLPA. "In both careers, if you hit him on the head, he could hit you back twice as hard--- but he didn't always do so,'' Tagliabue said of Upshaw in a statement. "He never lost sight of the interests of the game and the big picture.''
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