NFL Players Association executive
JC Tretter is resigning amid union overhaul
[July 21, 2025]
WASHINGTON (AP) — NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter is
resigning from his position, three days after Lloyd Howell stepped
down as executive director of the players’ union.
Tretter told CBS Sports on Sunday that he doesn’t want to be
considered for the NFLPA’s interim executive director position and
denied he played any role in undermining Howell’s position.
“Over the last couple days, it has gotten very, very hard for my
family. And that’s something I can’t deal with,” Tretter told CBS
Sports on Sunday. “So, the short bullet points are: I have no
interest in being (executive director). I have no interest in being
considered. I’ve let the executive committee know that. I’m also
going to leave the NFLPA in the coming days because I don’t have
anything left to give the organization.”
The 34-year-old Tretter, who played center for eight seasons with
Green Bay and Cleveland through 2021, was the player president from
2020 to 2024. He served in his new role since October 2024.
Howell resigned Thursday after two years because his leadership had
become a distraction. Howell has come under scrutiny since ESPN
reported he has maintained a part-time consulting job with the
Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that holds league approval to
seek minority ownership in NFL franchises.
That followed the revelation that the NFLPA and the league had a
confidentiality agreement to keep quiet an arbitrator’s ruling about
possible collusion by owners over quarterback salaries.
The latest issue was an ESPN report Thursday that revealed two
player representatives who voted for Howell were not aware that he
was sued in 2011 for sexual discrimination and retaliation while he
was a senior executive at Booz Allen.
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In 2023, a year after the NFLPA sued the owners for
collusion, the NFL sued the union after Tretter suggested in an
interview that running backs who were unhappy with their contracts
could fake injuries, which would be a violation of the collective
bargaining agreement.
The grievance also was decided this year and was
not shared publicly.
Tretter told CBS Sports he didn’t have access to the collusion
grievance and wasn’t involved in the confidentiality agreements.
Tretter was the NFLPA’s player president in 2023 when Howell was
elected as the union’s executive director following a vote that
changed the union’s constitution and made the search and election
process more confidential.
“I’m not resigning because what I’ve been accused of is true,”
Tretter said. “I’m not resigning in disgrace. I’m resigning because
this has gone too far for me and my family, and I’ve sucked it up
for six weeks. And I felt like I’ve been kind of left in the wind
taking shots for the best of the organization. ... And in the end,
what’s the organization done for me? Like, nothing.”
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