On July 28, 2010 Mayor Cory Booker, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, N.Y. Giants owner John Mara, Sylvia Mackey (wife of Hall of Famer John Mackey) and a throng of former NFL players joined NFL Alumni Executive Director and President George Martin in dedicating the NFL Alumni national offices in downtown Newark, N.J. NFL Alumni TV was there to document it all and gives you a behind-the-scenes look with this video.

Click here: www.youtube.com/watch

In Their Own Words

Newark Mayor Cory Booker

“I’m beyond excited,” Booker said. “This is extraordinary to have the NFL Alumni Association here in Newark. With all the cities in America they could’ve chosen, they chose to be here.”

Video of Mayor Booker’s address at dedication:
www.youtube.com/watch

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

"I don't think any of us fully understood the importance of these injuries, especially with such an emphasis on brain injuries," Goodell said. "It's up to us to try to prevent these injuries from happening and when they do occur, learning how to treat the injuries and properly recover from them."

Goodell said the league's retired players wanted an organization separate from the NFL.

"They have that now," he said. "It's a very positive step. All the attention is good and lends to the awareness. ... We all have to do a better job helping the retired players, whether it's physical, mental or financial help."

N.Y. Giants Owner John Mara

"The retired players were looking for unified leadership and there's a no more respected or qualified person than George Martin," he said. "I know he wants to do the right thing. While what the alumni players did in the past was good in terms of their charity work, they needed to focus on the real issues that retired players had. The owners all have a priority to listen to what the players were saying. It's been a priority for most of us.

"I think the relations between the owners and retired players will improve in the near future."

NFL Alumni Executive Director and President George Martin

"Having the support of the commissioner, of owners and from the players' union really gives me hope," said Martin, who spent 14 years in the NFL - all with the Giants. "We have a mission ahead of us, providing services that were never available before. The impact of concussions is high on our list and it represents the unknown. We don't know how deep and wide the damage is. We will pay strict and close attention to that issue above anything else."

Former Giants offensive tackle Roman Oben

"We need to have sustainable leadership," Oben said. "It doesn't matter if you retired two years ago or 20 years ago. We have a lot of guys who played eight, nine years in the league and you can't just let them fall by the wayside. When you talk about helping retired players, it has to be a constant."