The NFLPA’s nightmare saga has a new chapter.
JC Tretter, who serves as the union’s chief strategy officer, has announced his resignation and has withdrawn from being considered for the NFLPA’s interim executive director role. He shared this decision with CBS Sports on Sunday.
The news comes in the wake of executive director Lloyd Howell Jr.’s resignation last Thursday.
“In recent days, the situation has become very challenging for my family, and that’s something I cannot address,” Tretter explained. “To summarize: I am not interested in becoming the executive director. I do not wish to be considered for the role. I have informed the executive committee of my decision. Additionally, I will be departing from the NFLPA shortly because I feel I have no more to offer the organization.”
Tretter, who had been in his role with the union since October 2024, played eight NFL seasons as a center with the Browns and Packers.
In 2023, Tretter served as the NFLPA’s player president and was instrumental in the selection process that led to the hiring of Howell. Howell later resigned following reports about a controversial confidentiality agreement and expense claims for lavish outings at a strip club charged to the union.
“I love the guys, and that’s why I’ve done what I’ve done for the last six years is because I love what they do and who they are and the mission of the organization,” Tretter said. “And I think what I realized this morning when I woke up — after finally getting more than like two hours of sleep — is that I fell in love with the idea of what this place could be. And over the last six weeks, I’ve realized what this place is, and the delta between those two things.
“And I can’t walk into the building anymore, seeing and understanding what I see and understand now.”
In the interview with CBS Sports, Tretter also revealed that though the NFLPA’s board voted for Howell over former SAG-AFTRA director David White, Howell was not the top choice of the union’s executive committee.
Tretter said the committee voted, 10-1, for White over Howell, but the board had differing inclinations.
The NFLPA has yet to name an executive interim director, but ESPN reported that the union met Sunday night to discuss various candidates for the role, including NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis, executive director of the NFLPA trust Zamir Cobb and NFLPA associate general counsel Ned Ehrlich.
