Former Cleveland Browns center and NFLPA President JC Tretter finds himself in hot water with the union.
Tretter’s handling of the NFLPA has been under scrutiny after the grievance ruling relating to fully guaranteed contracts was published. Tretter was President of the NFLPA during the suit. He submitted testimony and records. However, his withholding of the failed grievance from the players, as well as the NFLPA’s organizational restructuring at the end of his term, is drawing heat from the media.
The case stems from Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed contract. The NFLPA accused the NFL of collusion to prevent quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray from receiving fully guaranteed contracts. While the independent Arbitrator found the NFL encouraged teams to collude, teams did not listen to the NFL. Instead, teams independently negotiated according to their best interests. It’s hard to legally prove collusion, even with a lower standard of proof. Tretter got caught up as he texted his disapproval of Russell Wilson being unable to negotiate a fully guaranteed contract. Tretter called Wilson a “wuss” in the messages.
It’s never a good thing for a labor leader to insult the people they represent, even in private. It’s unnecessarily divisive and never ends well. Even if the labor leader’s opinions are correct. Tretter’s actions as President are now being heavily scrutinized. Tretter was elected as the President in 2020 after a seven-year career in the NFL. He graduated from Cornell with a Bachelor’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations.
Tretter was pitched to the union as someone who could help build up the union’s infrastructure and negotiate a better collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the players. Tretter was successful on both fronts. The union agreed to a 17-game season, but they received at least 48% of the total revenue. Players were receiving around 45% of the revenue in the previous CBA. Tretter was re-elected as President of the NFLPA in 2022. The Browns cut Tretter weeks later as a cap casualty. Tretter, who represented himself, was never contacted by an NFL team again. Tretter received the seventh-highest PFF grade at center in his final season. The Browns have yet to find a center as good as Tretter was.
Tretter was busy during his final term as president of the NFLPA. Without a team and football to slow him down, Tretter was focused on building out the union. The most important step was replacing longtime Executive Director DeMaruice Smith. Tretter hired Russell Reynolds Associates to run the search for the next Executive Director. Russell Reynolds nominated a handful of candidates.
Ultimately, the NFLPA hired Lloyd Howell Jr., who previously served as chief financial officer and treasurer at Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. Howell has continued Tretter’s work to build up the union’s infrastructure. He created the position of Chief Strategy Officer and hired Tretter, following Tretter’s term as President. The entire search and Tretter’s role are being scrutinized after Tretter handled the collusion case poorly.
Tretter used his time as the NFLPA President to modernize the union. Executive searches are a significant component of the management consultancy industry. They’re a common occurrence among billion-dollar companies and non-profits. However, this is the first time the NFLPA has used a consultancy group. Tretter and the union had to modify the union’s constitution to allow for the privacy of a professional search.
The modern hiring methods, as well as a more robust union office, have spooked former and current players. They seem worried that Tretter is making a power play for the executive director position in the future. Tretter’s insults towards Wilson only deteriorate the trust inside the union.
Tretter must act quickly to reassure the union that he’s serving in their best interest.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Former Browns Center JC Tretter is under fire at the NFLPA
Reporting by Browns Alchemy, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
