11:21pm: Tretter has been elected the new executive director, the NFLPA announced.
In a lengthy statement, Tretter said: “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. I’m grateful for the trust my fellow players have placed in me, and I’m going to reward that trust with my fullest commitment to these players and chart a new course for our union. My sole goal is to build up the strength of the NFLPA.
“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 NFLPA needs leadership that listens, leads with integrity, and puts players first every day. That’s exactly how I plan to lead.”
12:03pm: NFLPA representatives have assembled in San Diego. A vote on the union’s new executive director is set to take place today, something which should be a notable development on a number of fronts. 
[RELATED: Jalen Reeves-Maybin Re-Elected As NFLPA President]
Since last month, the trio of finalists for the position have been known. Interim leader David White has been in place since Lloyd Howell‘s controversy-filled tenure ended with his resignation. Former president and chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter also left the NFLPA last summer, but he is back in contention to lead the union. American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti is the other finalist.
With the vote pending, however, it appears as though this is a two-man race. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports Tretter and White are considered the favorites. Tretter oversaw the NFLPA’s last executive director search, one which saw Howell elected over White. That decision ran against the preference of the union’s executive committee, a group which will have several new faces in place for today’s vote. A veteran of eight NFL seasons, Tretter clashed with many in the NFLPA before following Howell’s resignation with one of his own. Nevertheless, Kayln Kahler and Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN confirm Tretter is a strong candidate.
White had lengthy labor experience prior to his NFLPA arrival, including a stint as the leader of the SAG-AFTRA union from 2009-21. His background is not in football, however, making him a much different candidate than Tretter. White has publicly spoken out about issues related to schedule expansion, international games and playing surfaces during his interim gig.
The NFLPA constitution requires its executive committee to select between two and four finalists during an executive director search. That has taken place in this case, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports some of the player reps would prefer an “expanded pool” of candidates to choose from. Both Tretter and White’s respective tenures have been the subject of criticism on various fronts, and the NFLPA in general has been weighed down by a lack of transparency regarding many of its recent actions. As Florio notes, one outcome of the vote could be White’s interim stint simply being extended to allow for more candidates to be identified and vetted.
Needless to say, the immediate future will be worth watching on this front. Negotiations on a new CBA have essentially been on hold sine Howell’s resignation, but they will no doubt pick up once his full-time replacement is elected. The stance taken by the union’s next executive director will be a key factor in talks on several issues.
In other NFLPA news, Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal reports longtime chief player officer Don Davis has stepped down. White confirmed the news but did cite a reason for Davis’ tenure – which began in 2010 – coming to an end at this time. Davis will be “exploring new opportunities” moving forward.
This is the election you try to win if nobody would trust you as a dog catcher 🙂
All the reporting is on the problematic nature of this election. I’m interested in hearing why these candidates are chosen. Why the lack of transparency?
Why are we entitled to transparency? It’s a labor union. The people who should worry about that are the players. And it doesn’t seem to bother them.
How is it relevant to you? Are you part of the NFL? Ridiculous to be invested at all in this.
Whoever the pick is, they need to get guaranteed contracts done. The only league in the major 4 leagues that doesn’t have it.
Do you really think the other sport leagues would have guaranteed contracts if the teams had 53 man rosters?
If the nflpa was as strong as the mlbpa they would. The problem with the nflpa is that the lower ranks will sign any deal because the money for a fringe nfl player is so fleeting that they have 0 leverage. In mlb the base salaries are good and the mid level and fringe players have more leverage.
Very possible. But the NFL has an embarrassment of riches compared to other leagues. In 2024 shared revenue per team was enough to cover the entire salary cap and still have 170 million after.
That is before selling a single ticket, hot dog, or advertisement.
Guaranteed contracts wouldn’t cost more in theory. Either teams would keep the player rostered and deal with the contract hit or cut the player and still pay the contract. Over time you’d see teams be a bit more smart and only offering shorter deals, but that could benefit players as well.
Imagine the Dodgers paying Ohtani $700MM and having 52 other players on the team to pay. Fans would have to take out a mortgage at the stadium to buy a beer…lol.
It would have never gotten that far because if they had that size roster contracts would never get that big.
Guaranteed contracts in the nfl is way overdue.
Why should we care? As long as the product is good I will watch. That’s all I care about. How they divide up the money is their business, not mine. Just don’t have a work a stoppage.
Better for players, better product during off season by eliminating void years/3 different types of bonuses and ridiculous cap gymnastics. More player movement during off-seasons no dead money on trades more trades would happen.
Lots of positives that indirectly benefit the product.
Not to mention, maybe the league can get back some of the more positive things (they won’t, because they don’t care about the quality of the product) in exchange for guarantees-like more practices and more mandatory offseason programs. That would not only reduce the poor play (especially early in the season), it also reduces injuries by keeping players in better shape.
The most important thing, by far, is the reduced offseason drama about holdouts, contract revaluations, guaranteed money, etc. that’s enough of a relief for the league that you’d think they’d at least consider it, and it’ s huge get for the players.
Also, the Ohtani situation that you mentioned is not a good parallel. That $700 million Ohtani contract happened because baseball has no salary cap. The NFL teams already have to count for contract money against the cap, so it doesn’t change that aspect of it too much. If anything, this would bring salaries, but effectively only for the top paid players. Teams aren’t going to pay $60 million a year for one guy if the other 52 are guaranteed. What it does do is give those others more power.
But yes, I do think guaranteed contracts are overdue. Well, that and properly compensated, full time referees.
The Ohtani reference was a deliberate exaggeration but comparing the NFL to other leagues is an apples/oranges situation. Personally, I don’t support guarantees for millionaires when we can’t even provide adequate housing and medical support for many less fortunate people.
I mean, fair, but the NFL isn’t going to do that. They’re spending the money anyway. It leads to fewer shenanigans, and resolves most of the players’ complaints.
If the the choice were between that or guaranteed contracts, I think it’d be relevant. But it isn’t, so I don’t compare them.
Electing him after all the controversy I have zero sympathy for the players if they lose out in CBA negotiations.
The NFL owners make concessions but they always win out on issues that they care most about. I don’t think that changes no matter who the union has as ED.