NFLPA’s Defining Ballot Draws Near

NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION delegates are poised to elect a replacement over the coming weekend for their discredited former director, Lloyd Howell. A controversial ex-official from Howell’s administration ranks significantly among the three contenders vying for the position, several union insiders informed ESPN.

JC Tretter served as the guild’s player chief between 2020 and 2024, and subsequently, its principal strategic executive from October 2024 through July 2025, at which point Howell’s term concluded. This followed disclosures, brought to light by ESPN, concerning clandestine agreements with the National Football League, apparent conflicts of interest, and expenditures for adult entertainment venues billed to the organization.

Tretter, too, stepped down subsequent to ESPN’s investigative pieces. He informed ESPN he had no knowledge of a pact Howell forged with the NFL to keep an arbitrator’s determinations hidden from players, regarding NFL club owners’ coordinated efforts on compensation.

He had been a contender for the provisional executive director role once Howell tendered his resignation; however, he withdrew his candidacy upon his own departure. He conveyed to CBS Sports then that he held “no interest” in holding — or even being weighed for — the executive director position.

Currently, the former Cleveland Browns offensive blocker has surfaced as one of the contenders, with player delegates convening in San Diego to select a head. The remaining nominees, whittled down from an original pool of more than 300, include Tim Pernetti, commissioner of the American Conference, and David White, who previously led a Hollywood actors’ guild and has held the provisional NFLPA executive director post since August.

Given his background as a past player with extensive experience in union governance, Tretter’s qualifications resonate with certain player delegates, while numerous others within the organization have voiced their support for him. However, his history with the guild also draws criticism; the NFL successfully lodged two complaints against the NFLPA due to Tretter’s conduct, and he served as Howell’s deputy and trusted advisor.

Following Howell’s departure, guild president Jalen Reeves-Maybin dispatched correspondence to the athletes, stating that the selection procedure for a new executive director “will not be public, yet it will be clear and open with you — our constituents.”

“We are committed to preserving the privacy of our nominees to safeguard the impartiality of the selection, but we assure you of updates as the proceedings progress.”

With the impending ballot this week, several sources apprised ESPN that discord at the guild’s headquarters was palpable. An unspecified number of NFLPA employees dispatched an unsigned letter to the guild’s chief legal officer, Tom DePaso, alleging that Tretter maintains a close association with a named fellow union executive whom they claim has been the focus of numerous human resources grievances without facing any punitive measures.

Per the correspondence acquired by ESPN, the unnamed personnel expressed apprehension that Tretter’s “expected assumption of the executive directorship” could “[intensify an] unwelcoming professional atmosphere.”

A guild representative informed ESPN on Wednesday evening: “An unsigned electronic message, detailing multiple claims, has reached us. We are currently assessing these, and suitable actions will be undertaken if deemed necessary. We decline to offer additional remarks.”

As per an electronic mail secured by ESPN, DePaso replied to the unnamed personnel’s email by inviting them to “furnish the particulars and proof in your keeping which you contend substantiate your assertions, encompassing the identities of persons capable of offering pertinent details. We would be pleased to engage directly with your legal representative, should that be your preference.”

Numerous individuals associated with the guild refused to converse with ESPN regarding Tretter’s nomination or the selection procedure; some did so following consultations with members of the 11-athlete executive panel, responsible for interviewing aspirants and designating the ultimate contenders. The majority who did provide responses did so exclusively under the cloak of anonymity.

A single player delegate expressed astonishment upon discovering that Tretter had become a contender, but promptly noted that Tretter enjoys the esteem of numerous EC members, and other informants with direct insight stated Reeves-Maybin holds Tretter in high regard.

“It gives the impression of being an exclusive male fraternity,” the athlete’s delegate conveyed to ESPN. “I am uncertain if that accounts for his status as a contender, given he has a small contingent of supporters advocating for his opportunity, [yet] that’s genuinely the perception.”

An athlete who functioned as a delegate during the previous year remarked that Tretter “fulfills many criteria” due to his background as a past player possessing guild leadership expertise.

“However, I believe one cannot ignore the events of the past year,” the ex-player delegate stated. “How can an organization like ours endure such recent tribulations and yet arrive at this outcome?”

DURING JUNE 2023, the assembly of player delegates believed they had identified their subsequent head upon casting ballots to appoint Howell as executive director.

Tretter, who was then the guild’s player chief, supervised the 16-month quest culminating in Howell’s employment subsequent to an opaque selection. Among the measures undertaken: Delegates cast votes, with Tretter overseeing, to revise the NFLPA’s foundational document and remove a stipulation mandating that executive director contenders be presented to the player delegates’ board 30 days prior to a ballot.

Tretter informed ESPN during an interview the previous year that he placed a premium on secrecy as nominees’ identities had been divulged to the press during previous electoral processes.

“The preceding two iterations of the selection procedure were crude,” Tretter remarked the previous year. “They fell significantly short of the standard our guild ought to uphold.”

During the period leading up to the June 2023 ballot, as indicated by several informants, DeMaurice Smith, then the executive director, messaged the executive panel and a few senior guild officials to express dissatisfaction concerning the confidential character of the selection procedure.

Smith chose not to remark regarding the specifics of the previous selection procedure or the ongoing one

one. Nevertheless, Smith affirmed, “The Executive Committee’s function is to guarantee the fairness of the procedure and to illustrate to the members its supreme probity. Moreover, the board of player representatives bears the responsibility of ensuring the executive committee adheres to the constitution.”

The identities of the two 2023 contenders — Howell and White — became known to players as they assembled for the ballot.

Howell had recently departed from a 34-year leadership tenure at the advisory company Booz Allen, which was then confronted with informant claims of excessively invoicing the federal administration for vast sums.

This grievance constituted one of several warning signs uncovered by the recruitment agency Russell Reynolds during Howell’s background verification, as multiple union informants revealed to ESPN last year. Furthermore, Howell had faced a lawsuit for gender discrimination and reprisal initiated by a Booz Allen subordinate in 2011, a matter resolved for an unrevealed amount in 2015.

Tretter informed ESPN last year that he questioned Howell regarding the legal action during one of Howell’s discussion periods with player representatives. Two members of the executive committee corroborated Tretter’s narrative at that point, though two player representatives asserted to ESPN that the topic was never raised.

Howell eventually captivated player representatives through his fiscal insight and his portrayal as an organization outsider, along with his ability to connect with NFL team proprietors. Tretter mentioned that players chose Howell by a substantial majority.

Howell subsequently engaged Tretter as the organization’s principal strategy officer for an annual compensation of $300,000. Numerous individuals acquainted with NFLPA operations indicate that Tretter was among the select few union employees with whom Howell shared confidential information.

“Lloyd maintained a close cohort comprising JC, [NFL Players Inc. president] Matt Curtin, and [chief of staff] Anamika [Gupta], and that was essentially the extent of it,” an individual acquainted with union affairs disclosed to ESPN.

However, Howell’s term as executive director concluded after barely more than two years. He stepped down in July 2025 subsequent to a succession of ESPN disclosures concerning two visits to strip clubs, which he billed to the organization. ESPN additionally documented that Howell was employed part-time by the Carlyle Group, a private investment company pursuing minority stakes in NFL teams. A further ESPN dispatch unveiled the union’s nondisclosure pact with the NFL, which concealed from athletes a discovery that league officials had encouraged franchise proprietors to curtail assured player remuneration.

THE EVENING FOLLOWING Howell’s sudden departure, scores of union delegates and substitutes convened for a teleconference. During this assembly, Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs and a second alternate player representative, issued an appeal.

“We must correctly identify our selection for a leader,” Mahomes stated, as per four individuals informed of his remarks.

Mahomes’ viewpoint resonated with player delegates throughout the league as they grappled with the organization’s governance predicament during last summer’s training camp.

“We were convinced we had the suitable individual, and the reality is we did not,” remarked Chargers player delegate Josh Harris, who has participated in 14 NFL seasons and occupied an organizational position for 12 years. “Just as we approach our occupations with film analysis, understanding our actions, what potentially faltered, how we can enhance this, and how we can rectify it? That is the methodology we are employing, as it is our imperative. We must achieve accuracy in this.”

Although certain player representatives have advocated for greater openness in the electoral procedure in the aftermath of the Howell fiasco, the executive committee seems to be adhering to the identical process it utilized in 2023.

The committee engaged a distinct recruitment agency compared to the previous occasion, yet numerous player delegates conveyed to ESPN over the past week that they have acquired no details regarding the contenders. A single representative mentioned that the executive committee dispatched an electronic mail last week, apprising delegates of the procedure and advising them that contender details would not be divulged until the gatherings commence.

The dearth of particulars did not trouble another player delegate, who confided in ESPN this week that he prefers not to view trailers prior to films or television programs, nor to function with “prejudgment.”

Upon being informed of the three contenders’ names, the delegate expressed his admiration for JC Tretter, stating that Tretter had been “an outstanding head for us during his oversight of the organization, but executive director constitutes a distinct role. Consequently, I will need to observe his self-presentation and proceed from that point.”

A substitute player delegate conveyed to ESPN that he could not conceive of a “more formidable aspirant” for the position than Tretter. “Conversing with him from an overarching perspective concerning the dynamic between athletes, proprietors, and the organization, I believe he possesses a keen intuition for recognizing and generating influence.”

A member of the executive committee communicated to ESPN during last summer’s training camp that they believed Tretter had been unjustly criticized for the events that transpired within the organization throughout Howell’s term.

“JC was severely condemned, and I lament not having defended him sooner,” the executive committee member remarked. “I regret not seizing an earlier chance to declare that this has gone far enough.”

A further executive committee member and the then-Vikings center Ryan Kelly reiterated that view, asserting that reporting on Tretter had been “prejudicial.”

“He is an exceptional president,” Kelly stated. “Should individuals be aware of the extent of effort he has dedicated to assisting players, actively engaging on their behalf, I believe he became entangled in this situation, and much of it is inaccurate.”

ADVOCATES ASSERT TRETTER embraced an athlete-centric approach in his capacity as player president and chief strategy officer. He claimed recognition for the NFLPA’s yearly evaluation reports, which poll players regarding employment environments at their teams. He arranged an exclusive offseason golf competition for players in Mexico and headed an initiative to forbid journalists from questioning players within the changing room.

Nevertheless, Tretter also committed some expensive missteps as the NFLPA president.

In the preceding year, an arbiter determined that his 2023 remarks concerning running back ailments breached the collective bargaining agreement, as they incited players to feign injuries. The arbiter’s ruling referenced Tretter’s statement on a podcast that athletes “ought to endeavor to generate maximum possible influence.”

Furthermore, in the previous month, an arbiter concluded that the organization’s dissemination of team evaluation reports contravened the CBA since they “[denigrated] NFL teams and persons.”

These arbitration proceedings likely contributed to the organization’s legal expenditures, which escalated almost four times from 2015 to 2023. Annual legal expenses averaged $5.1 million from the fiscal years concluding February 2016 through February 2022, subsequently surging to $10.8 million in the fiscal year ending February 2023, $10.9 million in the year ending February 2024, and $18.1 million in the year ending February 2025, based on information gathered from the union’s LM-2s. Besides the arbitration conflicts, the NFLPA has also been involved in a disagreement with the trading-card corporation Panini regarding endorsement privileges.

A single player delegate informed ESPN that organizational fees constitute the paramount worry among his colleagues. They desire knowledge of how their funds are being allocated and wish to perceive that the organization is not squandering their capital.

The personnel who voiced grievances in the missive to organizational heads stated they conveyed their concerns without identifying themselves to safeguard against reprisal.

Two seasoned NFLPA personnel — the long-serving NFLPA attorney Heather McPhee and security director Craig Jones — were terminated subsequent to expressing concerns about the shortcomings of organizational management, and human resources grievances were lodged against them.

In December, McPhee initiated legal action against the NFLPA for retribution after being placed on compulsory absence in August, a move that came subsequent to disclosures that she authored and disseminated multiple memoranda pressing the organization to probe purported self-enrichment by union executives.

The NFLPA terminated McPhee 12 days subsequent to her filing her retribution lawsuit. Jones was dismissed in February and, in a communication to his prior associates, acquired by ESPN, remarked concerning the forthcoming election: “I IMPLORE you to insist to leadership and among yourselves that the 3 prospective candidates mentioned are UNSUITABLE… Resist and reject this evident deception.”

John Mastroberardino, an ESPN investigator, provided input for this dispatch.