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USA Today
7 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
JC Tretter discusses NFLPA tenure, controversies on Dan Patrick Show
Days after resigning from his position as NFL Players Association president amid mounting controversies, JC Tretter joined the Dan Patrick Show to discuss both the decision to step down and those controversies. During his interview, Tretter denied knowing about the NFL's collusion grievance and offered an apology to quarterback Russell Wilson. Tretter resigned from his position as NFLPA president on Sunday, days after executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. stepped down from his role. The former Cleveland Browns center told Dan Patrick that the recent blows he's taken to his public reputation were a big part of his decision to step down. "I feel like I had nothing left to give the organization."Former NFLPA President @JCTretter explains his decision to resign from the NFLPA. JC TRETTER: Former NFLPA president resigns amid scandals within union "I feel like I had nothing left to give the organization," Tretter said. "There have been some stories out there about me that aren't true, and I've been asked to sit on that and not talk about it. And that was for the organization, that wasn't for the players. "In the end, I feel like I couldn't do that anymore." Tretter and Howell had been subjects of intense scrutiny over the last month. Revelations from multiple outlets that the union had agreed to two different deals with the NFL to cover up arbitration reports were a big part of that scrutiny. The Boston Globe reported Friday – two days before Tretter's resignation – that a text message criticizing the then-NFLPA president had been circulating among players. 'When will the players rise up and hold Tretter accountable for all this?" it read. "Tretter is the common denominator in all these scandals." NFL GRIEVANCE COVER-UP: Reports: NFL, NFLPA concealed arbitrator report over fake injury complaint One of the arbitration reports that remained concealed stemmed from a grievance the NFLPA filed in 2022, alleging that NFL owners were engaged in collusion to limit the guaranteed money in player contracts. The arbitrator found no instances of collusion but also wrote that a "preponderance of evidence" suggested that the league had encouraged owners to collude. On Tuesday, Tretter said he had neither seen nor had access to the collusion grievance. He also stated that he had no discussions about the case in the months and years between its filing and the arbitrator's report from earlier this year. "Just not part of my job," Tretter said. NFLPA CONTROVERSIES: What to know about Lloyd Howell, JC Tretter resignations He went on to deny other rumors that he had "been angling for the executive director job," noting that he had declined a previous petition to run for the position because it would have meant more time away from his family. "A lot of things have been rolled down to, 'This must be JC's fault,' and that's not where I sit in the organization," Tretter said. "And that's not the type of person I am, and I didn't want people thinking that was the type of person I am." Tretter also walked back the criticism of quarterback Russell Wilson he sent to former NFLPA executive director De Smith in text messages that were revealed in a deposition related to the collusion grievance. "If I knew the league was colluding against Russell, I would apologize, because I would know there's factors outside of his control that were illegal and not allowed to happen."– Former NFLPA President @JCTretter on his text exchange with former NFLPA Exec DeMaurice Smith. Tretter told Patrick he called Wilson a "wuss" for taking less guaranteed money in the five-year, $242.5 million contract extension he signed with the Denver Broncos in 2022. The former union president said it upset him that the deal, which guaranteed $124 million at signing, was a missed opportunity to secure more guaranteed money for players in future contracts. Said Tretter: "If I knew the league was colluding against Russell, I would apologize, because I would know there's factors outside of his control that were illegal and not allowed to happen."
NBC Sports
7 days ago
- Politics
- NBC Sports
J.C. Tretter reiterates claim that he knew nothing about the hidden collusion ruling
After former NFL Players Association chief strategy officer JC Tretter resigned, he submitted to an interview with Jonathan Jones of On Monday, we raised the question of whether Tretter will be doing more. He will, and he is. Starting on Tuesday with an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. Early in the segment, Tretter said this: 'There's been some stories out there about me that aren't true, and I've been asked to sit on that and not talk about it.' Dan gave Tretter a chance to identify the false reports. Tretter immediately focused on his role, or not, in the hiding of the collusion ruling. 'There's been a lot of narratives spun,' Tretter said. 'The idea that I buried the collusion grievance. I've never seen the collusion grievance. . . . I don't have access to the collusion grievance. I wasn't in any discussions about the collusion grievance, just not part of my job.' So when did he find out about the ruling in the collusion grievance? 'I know we lost the collusion grievance in January,' Tretter said. 'I knew that. I didn't know of any agreements or what was happening with that because it's not part of my department. Once it leaked a few weeks ago, I started learning more. I was on the board [of player representatives] call and the [executive committee] call when it was explained what had happened over the last six months to the players. So I know more now, but at that point I knew nothing. I wasn't involved in the discussions.' If Tretter is telling the truth, how is it possible the chief strategy officer wasn't involved in formulating the strategy for turning the outline into maximum leverage for the players? If it's not part of his job, what's his job? If it's not part of his department, what's his department? And if he wasn't involved in the discussions, why was he even there? Beyond his current job title, Tretter was the link back to the collusion grievance. He was the NFLPA president when it was filed. He testified in the case. He should have been livid to learn that the ruling had been hidden from him, and that a partial win had been dismissed as a loss. And while Tretter initially called it a loss, things he said later in the interview made it clear that he realizes — and believes — it could still become a win. 'Now, this is still pending, so even though it was, quote, hidden, it was in a standstill agreement, and the right to appeal was still there,' Tretter said. 'So the NFLPA is appealing. So this is still open and can potentially change. So this is still a pending investigation or a pending matter. And I hope it comes out or I hope it's proven that we are able to prove those other two pieces [i.e., actual collusion and damages] that are needed to win the entire collusion grievance.' We've since asked the NFLPA for an update on the appeal. While the union used to respond to our questions, that has abruptly stopped in recent days. It's unclear where the directive is coming from, since the union doesn't currently have an executive director. And it's odd that the union would be adopting an adversarial stance with one of the few media outlets that is committed to the principle that people watch football games to see the players, and that the players should get more pay and better treatment than they experience. I'll nevertheless remain committed to that principle, and I'll use this platform to get fans to think twice before blindly lining up behind the laundry.
The Herald Scotland
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Why JC Tretter is resigning from the NFLPA amid scandals
"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. "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." NFL, NFLPA explainer: What to know about grievances, Lloyd Howell, next steps Tretter served as president of the NFLPA from 2020 to 2024 and resigns amid multiple scandals involving Howell and the players' union. Howell faced questions after the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast released a 61-page arbitration report showing the NFL encouraged owners "to reduce guarantees in future contracts with players at the March 2022 annual meeting." Howell, the head of the NFLPA at the time, reached a confidentiality agreement with the NFL that kept players and the public from knowing what was in the report. Since his resignation, reports came out that Howell charged the NFLPA for multiple strip club visits. The "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast also reported another confidential deal between the NFL and the NFLPA on an investigation into fake injuries. Tretter's comments during an interview in 2023 led to the investigation. Tretter was considered a frontrunner to replace Howell in upcoming NFLPA executive director elections. "I'm not resigning because what I've been accused of is true," he told CBS Sports. "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." OPINION: Former NFLPA head Lloyd Howell was sunk by his own secrets NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis is reportedly the other frontrunner and seems poised to take the position. Davis played linebacker for 11 years in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots. All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.
NBC Sports
21-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC Sports
NFLPA executive committee strongly preferred David White to Lloyd Howell
There's an irony to the finger-pointing in the aftermath of the failed tenure of NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell. During the process that resulted in Howell being hired, the union was ridiculously secretive. No one knew who the candidates were, including the dues-paying members of the union. The board of player representatives, who had the power to vote on the next executive director, didn't know until they showed up for the meeting. Now that Lloyd's two-year stint with the union has gone as well as Thurston's three-hour tour on the Minnow, those who refused to say anything about the process are saying plenty. It started on Sunday afternoon, with the surprise resignation of former NFLPA president and then-NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter via a lengthy interview with Jonathan Jones of From the article: 'For the first time, Tretter now reveals that Howell was not the executive committee's top choice. In a straw poll conducted prior to the candidates being presented, the committee voted 10-1 in favor of [David] White over Howell. Members of the committee did not share their preference with the board.' It's the 'first time' it was revealed because Tretter previously refused to reveal anything. Now that the mop is out for the cleanup on Aisle Howell, Tretter's revelation has a distinct 'don't blame me' vibe to it. And there's more. Tretter also told Jones that Tretter wasn't the one from the executive committee who voted for Howell. Tretter said he preferred White, because White had labor experience. Howell had none. 'So the idea that I was jamming anybody through was false,' Tretter said. Making the 10-1 issue even more strange is the fact that, hours after Tretter's on-the-record quotes emerged, the Washington Post reported the same facts as if they were previously unknown, attributing the information to unnamed sources. But Tretter had already said it with his name on it; that fact wasn't mentioned in the lengthy item from the Post. Regardless, here's the message from Tretter and whoever told the same information to the Post: Don't blame the executive committee for Howell. We wanted the other guy, but the voters never asked for our opinion. That point was underscored by an 'unnamed union source' to Jones and sprinkled into the Tretter interview: 'Maybe [the executive committee] should have given them a recommendation instead of giving the board a binder of information that they won't read, while they golf and drink, to make a decision.' It's hard not to wonder whether the unnamed union source is the same guy who was on the record throughout the article. Routinely, people who are being interviewed will say that certain things are off the record. If those off-the-record comments make it into the final article, they get attributed to an unnamed source. Whether it was or wasn't Tretter, the broader points are these: (1) Tretter seems to be trying to distance himself from the hiring of Howell; and (2) Tretter seems to be blaming the player representatives for picking the wrong guy. There's one last point to make. Given the possibility if not likelihood that Howell resigned because he knew ESPN was about to report on the strip-club expense-report misadventure, it's also possible that Tretter caught wind that the Post would be dropping something about Howell's hiring on Sunday night or Monday morning. Tretter possibly decided to force the issue by preemptively handing to Jones the '10-1" wrinkle that became the first topic of the Post story — and which has been the subject of at least five tweets from the reporter who wrote it. To put it as simply as possible, if Tretter knew the Post would be reporting that the executive committee overwhelmingly supported White over Howell and that Tretter, as NFLPA president at the time, didn't convey that information to the players who voted, Tretter may have concluded that he had no chance of becoming the interim executive director. Which made it the perfect time to declare victory and retreat. After, of course, scooping the Post by handing the biggest news nugget in its story to CBS.
USA Today
20-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
JC Tretter resigning from NFLPA amid scandals within union
Days after the NFL Players Association's executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned, the favorite to replace him is resigning as well. Former Cleveland Browns center and NFLPA president JC Tretter told CBS Sports that he is resigning from the NFLPA, removing his name from candidacy for the now-vacant executive director 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. "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." NFL, NFLPA explainer: What to know about grievances, Lloyd Howell, next steps Tretter served as president of the NFLPA from 2020 to 2024 and resigns amid multiple scandals involving Howell and the players' union. Howell faced questions after the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast released a 61-page arbitration report showing the NFL encouraged owners "to reduce guarantees in future contracts with players at the March 2022 annual meeting." Howell, the head of the NFLPA at the time, reached a confidentiality agreement with the NFL that kept players and the public from knowing what was in the report. Since his resignation, reports came out that Howell charged the NFLPA for multiple strip club visits. The "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast also reported another confidential deal between the NFL and the NFLPA on an investigation into fake injuries. Tretter's comments during an interview in 2023 led to the investigation. Tretter was considered a frontrunner to replace Howell in upcoming NFLPA executive director elections. "I'm not resigning because what I've been accused of is true," he told CBS Sports. "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." OPINION: Former NFLPA head Lloyd Howell was sunk by his own secrets NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis is reportedly the other frontrunner and seems poised to take the position. Davis played linebacker for 11 years in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots. All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.
