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The NFL Players Association has completed its leadership transition, electing former union president and retired Browns offensive lineman JC Tretter as its new executive director.
The move completes an eight-month search process that began last summer, when then-executive director Lloyd Howell resigned amid a series of personal and professional scandals. Tretter had been seen in some circles as potentially too connected to that prior Howell regime, and he, too, initially resigned last year from his role as the union’s chief strategy officer and claimed he had no interest in the top NFLPA job.
After later returning to the search process, Tretter beat out a field of 300 initial candidates and two other finalists: interim executive director David White and American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti.
“There are times in your life when you know that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. That’s where I am today,” Tretter said in a statement. “I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and how important it is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with player leadership. This union has always played a critical role in shaping the game, and that work is as important now as it’s ever been.”
The shift atop the NFLPA bears some similarity to the recent and similarly ugly departure of former MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark. And just as MLB owners and players are about to head into a fractious and deeply consequential set of collective bargaining talks, Tretter will immediately face many pressing issues.
The Real Work Begins
Leading that list is the NFL owners’ desire to implement an 18-game season. The commercial opportunities around such a move are massive, particularly relating to the league’s media rights, but players have made no secret about their firm opposition to that, largely on health and safety grounds.
“The 18th game is not casual for us,” White said last month during the lead-up to Super Bowl LX. “It’s a very serious issue. It’s something that comes out of negotiation, and nothing will move forward until players have the opportunity to account for all of [the] factors, take that into consideration, and then, through negotiation, agree—or not—to the 18th game. But as it stands right now, players have been very clear. They don’t have any appetite for it.”
Tretter is the fifth executive director in NFLPA history. The union, meanwhile, also re-elected free agent linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin as union president.
“We have worked with JC for several years, first as union president when he helped the league and the NFLPA successfully navigate through COVID during the 2020 season,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “We look forward to building upon that relationship to further our shared priorities, including our commitment to advancing player health and safety and ensuring the global growth of our game for our fans, the players, and our clubs.”
