WASHINGTON – His body battered and bruised by a Hall of Fame career in the NFL, Joe DeLamielleure limped to the podium to state his case.

“We’ve earned the right to have a livable pension,” the former guard with the Bills and Browns said after detailing his lengthy résumé of surgeries. “The NFL is the most lucrative sport on the planet and they can’t take care of 2,000 guys? That’s wrong.”

DeLamielleure was one of a collection of NFL Hall of Famers and current players who held a press conference Monday backing a class-action lawsuit against the NFL.

Carl Eller, one of the plaintiffs, says the league has not done what is “fair and right” in supporting the financial and medical concerns of former players. He was joined at the National Press Club by Hall of Famers Lem Barney, Elvin Bethea and Paul Krause, among others, each of whom detailed the struggles they have had trying to receive NFL benefits.

“These are real people, real players and real pain,” Eller said.