NFLPA Names JC Tretter Executive Director
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. 
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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.
NFLPA Names Three Finalists For Executive Director
Following the controversial tenure of Lloyd Howell as executive director of the NFL Players Association, the players’ union has been searching for a permanent replacement. Per a joint report from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler, the NFLPA has narrowed its search down to three candidates: interim executive director David White, former union chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter, and commissioner of the American Conference Tim Pernetti.
Howell resigned last summer after reports emerged that he had charged strip club visits to the union, worked part-time for a private equity firm seeking minority ownership in NFL franchises, and struck an agreement with the league not to disclose an arbitrator’s ruling indicating potential collusion between NFL owners against players. In the wake of Howell’s departure, White was elected to serve in the interim role of executive director after also being a finalist for the position when it was given to Howell.
White, formerly a CEO at an executive coaching/strategic firm and board chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, “has extensive labor experience” after having served as the leader of the SAG-AFTRA union from 2009-21. Tretter, the former Browns center and NFLPA player president for a five-year tenure, was also an option to serve as interim executive director, but he chose to withdraw his name from consideration after also resigning from his role with the union while denying any culpability in Howell’s wrongdoing. Tretter had been the leader of the search that led to the selection of Howell over White in 2023.
Pernetti is the only new name in the discussion. After leadership roles with Major League Soccer and the sports and entertainment company Endeavor, Pernetti served as the president of Florida’s athletic powerhouse high school IMG Academy. He was named the American Conference’s commissioner in June 2024. Other known candidates that didn’t make it to the final stage of the search process are former NFL cornerback and NFLPA president Domonique Foxworth, former NFL quarterback and player representative Matt Schaub, and former NFL center Jeff Saturday.
According to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, Tretter is “believed to have strong support among the players on the NFLPA’s ruling executive committee for the executive director job.” That won’t do him much good, though, as the decision will be made by a vote between the union’s 32 player representatives at the annual NFLPA meeting in San Diego next month.
Maske goes on to say that the player rep consensus may differ from the ruling executive committee, since Tretter is seen as a polarizing figure. White has typically been viewed more favorably, earning respect for having stabilized things in the wake of Howell’s departure, while Pernetti is not as well known to the players. Time will tell how things shake out as the league’s union moves closer and closer to establishing new leadership.