J.C. Tretter named NFLPA president

Cleveland Browns center J.C. Tretter of Akron, New York has been named the new president of the National Football League Players’ Association. The NFLPA needed to have a new president due to the fact that former president Eric Winston of Midland, Texas has not played in the NFL since suiting up with the Cincinnati Bengals on their offensive line since 2017.

Tretter is in his eighth NFL season. He played his first four seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the last four seasons since 2017 with the Browns.

There is no doubt that Tretter has the educational background for the position. He has his degree in Industrial Labor Relations from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Now Tretter will be putting his experience in negotiations to practice. There is no doubt that the NFLPA is divided at the moment and are torn regarding whether or not to proceed and accept the new  collective bargaining agreement proposed by the owners.

The major change proposed by the owners comes down to length of schedule. At this time, the NFL owners are proposing a change from 16 to 17 games for next season. The increase by one game is simply not sitting well with many players who favour the 16 game schedule, and would be playing a 17th game at a discount rate. However there are many players with a lower salary than superstars who support the new collective bargaining agreement because they believe the new proposal would bring them more guaranteed money.

At 6’4″, 305 pounds, Tretter was initially the Packers fourth round draft pick, 122nd overall, in the 2013 National Football League Draft. However he did not play his first NFL game until November 9, 2014 due to separate injuries to his ankle and knee.