The greatest offensive lineman in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers was center Mike Webster. In fact, he was one of the greatest players in franchise history. What became of Webster and his family is a real tragedy and we know this because of his son Garrett, who is active on social media. On Wednesday, Webster took to X to offer some perspective and, in essence, call out the NFL in response to a post by former NFL quarterback Cam Newton.
Newton, who has now become a podcaster, made a post in an attempt to elicit some sort of sympathy about the fact that he doesn’t make as much money as he did when he played in the NFL, and he cannot do all the things for his eight children that he used to. It was probably the most first-world problem thing I’ve seen in a very long time and frankly off-putting given how much money Newton made as an NFL player.
But Webster used the tweet to share the situation he and his family are in, not to take a shot at Newton, but at the NFL. Webster said his family is forced to live on welfare and after his dad died, they received no pension from the NFL. This, despite Webster’s 17 seasons in the NFL.
My dad was Mike Webster . Played 17 years in the NFL , 4 super bowls , member of 75th and all century team. He died broke , we are on welfare, we receive no pension , and had to sell his Super Bowl rings to pay bills . I’m sorry about Cam though #steelers#nflhttps://t.co/DkHfsqVJ1E
— Garrett webster (@Bigweb52) August 20, 2025
The NFL continues to make billions of dollars in revenue with no end in sight but the lives of the players that built this league are oftentimes miserable because this multi-billion dollar industry turns a blind eye to them and acts like they don’t exist. When the truth is, the league would be nothing without the players and teams of the ’70s and ’80s. Webster did note in a follow-up post that the Steelers have been a tremendous help and the league is getting better but his family still lives on public assistance despite him working full time and there is more work to be done.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers legend Mike Webster’s son calls out the league’s poor treatment of him and his family on social media
