NFLPA elects former OL JC Tretter as next executive director

NFL Players Association player representatives have elected former union chief strategy officer and retired Cleveland Browns offensive lineman JC Tretter as their next executive director, the union announced Tuesday.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and how important it is to stand alongside player leadership,” Tretter said in a statement released to X. “This union has always played a vital role in shaping the game, and that work is as important now as ever.”

The NFLPA has been searching for a permanent leader since July, when then-executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned after ESPN reported he billed the union for two visits to strip clubs. ESPN also reported that he worked part-time for the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that seeks a minority stake in NFL franchises, and that the union and the league had a confidentiality agreement to preserve an arbitrator’s rulings regarding possible collusion by NFL owners and players.

Tretter beat out an initial group of 300 applicants and the other two finalists: interim executive director David White, who was the former head of the Hollywood actors’ union, and American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti.

“We conducted a thorough and deliberate search to identify the right long-term leader to deliver sustainable and meaningful progress for our members,” the Players Representative Council said in a statement published on X.

The NFL and NFLPA’s collective bargaining agreement expires in 2030, but Tretter will assume the role of addressing negotiations with the league on adding an 18th game and an international game for each team, goals that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and owners have been vocal about. Tretter served as the players union president from 2020 to 2024 and as chief strategy officer from October 2024 to July 2025, when he also resigned following the ESPN reports.

He told ESPN in July that he was unaware of an agreement Howell made with the league to hide from players an arbitrator’s findings regarding NFL owners’ collusion on compensation. He was a candidate for interim executive director after Howell resigned, but withdrew his name when he resigned. He told CBS Sports at the time that he was “not interested” in being — or being considered for — executive director.

But Tretter emerged as a finalist in recent weeks, and his election is the culmination of a confidential election process that echoes the one conducted by the executive committee in 2023 when Howell was elected. Prior to this election, Tretter presided over a vote of player representatives to amend the NFLPA constitution and eliminate the requirement that executive director finalists be appointed to the player representative council 30 days before the vote.

Tretter told ESPN in an interview last year that he prioritized confidentiality because candidates’ names had been leaked to the media in previous elections.

Player representatives gathered at the Del Coronado Hotel in San Diego this weekend to learn the identities of the candidates and interview them. When contacted by ESPN in person in San Diego and by phone, several player representatives declined to comment on the election process.

Goodell, in a statement released Tuesday, praised Tretter and noted the “unique perspective” he brings as a former player.

“We have worked with JC for several years, first as union president when he helped the league and NFLPA successfully navigate COVID during the 2020 season,” Goodell said. “We look forward to building on this relationship to advance our shared priorities, including our commitment to advancing player health and safety and ensuring the global growth of our game for our fans, players and our clubs.”

Supporters among Tretter’s players noted his player-first mentality in his role as player president and director of strategy. He took credit for the NFLPA’s annual report cards, which survey players about working conditions at their clubs. He organized a players-only offseason golf tournament in Mexico and led a campaign to ban journalists from interviewing players in locker rooms.

Tretter, however, made some costly mistakes as NFLPA president. Last year, an arbitrator found his 2023 comments about running back injuries violated the collective bargaining agreement because they encouraged players to fake injuries. The referee’s decision quotes Tretter saying in a podcast that players “have to try to create as much leverage as possible.” And last month, an arbitrator concluded that the union’s distribution of team bulletins violated the collective bargaining agreement because they “[disparaged] NFL clubs and individuals. »

Arbitration cases reportedly contributed to union legal costs that nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2023. Legal costs averaged $5.1 million annually between February 2016 and February 2022, then jumped to $10.8 million in the fiscal year ending February 2023, $10.9 million in the fiscal year ending February 2024 and $18.1 million in the year ending February 2025, according to data compiled from the union’s LM-2s.

In addition to arbitration battles, the NFLPA has also been engaged in a dispute with trading card company Panini over licensing fees.

Players’ president Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who was elected to the position in 2024 after Tretter left the post, was re-elected Monday night. According to two sources close to the electoral process, he ran unopposed.