Vanderbilt Health is one of 12 of the nation’s premier providers of medical care that will begin offering services to any former NFL player or team employee, and their families, under the banner of Hall of Fame Health.

An estimated 80% of the League’s nearly 20,000 former players are not covered under employer-sponsored medical plans and must shop for insurance coverage each year during the national open-enrollment period, which this year begins Nov. 1.

As part of the agreement, Vanderbilt Health will work with Hall of Fame Health to provide a variety of services, some designed to fill gaps in existing coverage, along with concierge services to help former players and their families navigate the health care landscape. Offerings will complement services the NFL provides in the 30 cities where franchises are located and will add available in-network health options in areas of the country where thousands of NFL retirees are located.

“We have decades of experience caring for the unique and challenging health needs of elite athletes, world-class entertainers, corporate leaders and public figures of all kinds, so we feel it is our duty to step up and be involved early with Hall of Fame Health,” says C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC. “Our region is home to many former players and their families, and we’re proud to be a resource for them as they start to play the long game with their health.”

“This network of world-class health systems, physician groups and provider organizations is committed to helping the Pro Football Hall of Fame serve former football players and their families as they look to navigate and gain access to the very best care,” says Jeremy Hogue, CEO of Hall of Fame Health. “It’s consistent with the hall’s mission ‘to honor the heroes of the game.’ In the community of former football players, there is a need. We’re rising to meet it.”

“When we talk about ‘honoring the heroes of the game,’ it’s more than documenting their accomplishments on the field. It’s about caring about them off the field as well,” says David Baker, president and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “And that care is not limited to members of the Hall of Fame; it’s for everyone associated with the great game of football. Hall of Fame Health and these network partners will improve quality of life by providing world-class health care to the thousands of men and women who have been associated with the National Football League and its 32 clubs.”

Along with Vanderbilt Health, the Hall of Fame Health network includes other premier hospitals, physicians and orthopedic centers like Andrews Institute, Aultman Health, Baylor Scott & White Health, Emory Healthcare, HCA Houston Healthcare, HonorHealth, Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush (MOR), OrthoLoneStar, Providence St. John’s Health Center, Tampa General Hospital and UCSF Health.