Player representatives for the NFL Players Association 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 shoulder-to-shoulder with player leadership,” Tretter said in a statement posted to X. “This union has always played a critical role in shaping the game, and that work is as important now as it’s ever been.”
Tretter beat out an initial field of 300 candidates and the two other finalists — interim executive director David White, who was the former Hollywood actors’ union chief, and American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti.
“We conducted a thorough, deliberate search to identify the right long-term leader to deliver sustained, meaningful progress for our members,” the board of player reps said in a statement posted to X.
He told ESPN in July that he was unaware of an agreement Howell had made with the league to conceal from players an arbitrator’s findings related to NFL owners’ collusion on pay. He was a candidate to serve as interim executive director after Howell resigned but pulled his name from consideration when he stepped down. 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 the executive committee conducted in 2023 when Howell was elected. Ahead of that election, Tretter presided over a player rep vote to amend the NFLPA constitution and eliminate a requirement that executive director finalists be named to the board of player representatives 30 days before a vote.
Tretter told ESPN in an interview last year that he prioritized confidentiality because candidates’ names had been leaked to the media in past elections.
Player representatives gathered at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego over the weekend to learn the candidates’ identities and interview them. When reached by ESPN in person in San Diego and by phone, multiple player representatives declined to comment on the election process.
Goodell in a statement released Tuesday congratulated Tretter and noted the “unique perspective” he brings as a former player.
The arbitration cases would have contributed to union legal costs that grew nearly fourfold from 2015 to 2023. Legal costs averaged $5.1 million per year from the years ending February 2016 through February 2022, then jumped to $10.8 million in the year ending February 2023, $10.9 million in the 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 fights, the NFLPA also has been engaged in a dispute with the trading-card company Panini over licensing rights.
Player president Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who was elected to the role in 2024 after Tretter vacated the position, was reelected Monday night. Per two sources familiar with knowledge of the election process, he ran unopposed.
Kalyn KahlerMar 17, 2026, 06:49 PM ETCloseKalyn Kahler is a senior NFL writer at ESPN. Kalyn reports on a range of NFL topics. She reported about the influence of coaching agents on NFL hiring and found out what current and former Cowboys players really think about the tour groups of fans that roam about The Star every day. Before joining ESPN in July of 2024, Kalyn wrote for The Athletic, Defector, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. She began her career at Sports Illustrated as NFL columnist Peter King’s assistant. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she was a varsity cheerleader. In her free time, Kalyn takes Spanish classes and teaches Irish dance. You can reach out to Kalyn via email.Follow on XMultiple Authors