60 Heroes: Long-Standing Fighter For Justice

In 1984, Executive Director Gene Upshaw asked a young legal intern named Tom DePaso to stay at the NFLPA instead of taking a job as a tax lawyer in Philadelphia.  Since then, DePaso has been with the union as a part of its legal team, working extensively on many key cases that have helped the NFLPA grow and fight for players’ rights.

DePaso played football under Joe Paterno at Penn State from 1973-1977.  A starting linebacker his last two years, DePaso helped the Nittany Lions to a 1977 Fiesta Bowl win.  Drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1978, DePaso’s NFL career was short-lived as he was cut by the club while on injured reserve during his second year in the league.  After the NFLPA filed a grievance on his behalf.  DePaso enrolled in law school at Catholic University and got to know members of the NFLPA legal staff as his grievance case continued before being settled. 

Almost three years later, he accepted a legal internship with the NFLPA. A year after that, Upshaw asked him to stay on as full-fledged staff attorney.  In his 32-plus-year career with the NFLPA, DePaso has assisted in several landmark legal battles, including the long fight for free agency in the '80s and '90s and the cases of the 2011 lockout. Just as important, he has been the NFLPA's point man in salary cap matters since the mid-1990s, including the critical task of monitoring all club and league revenues.

In 2012, DePaso replaced Richard Berthelsen as General Counsel for the NFLPA—a role he continues to this day.