The NFLPA isn’t usually the subject of significant attention unless it is negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the NFL.
However, in recent weeks, the labor union representing the NFL’s players has found itself in the spotlight often thanks to a variety of scandals within its ranks.
These controversies have caused the NFLPA’s executive director, Lloyd Howell Jr., to resign just two years after taking over the role from DeMaurice Smith. JC Tretter, who served as the union’s president from 2020 to 2024, is also set to step down from the organization as it undergoes a shake-up.
Why is there so much turmoil within the NFLPA? Here’s what to know about the recent controversies surrounding the labor union.
NFLPA controversies, explained
Several controversies have rocked the NFLPA in recent weeks. Below are the full details of the two most notable ones.
NFL and NFLPA agree to keep collusion findings secret
In January, arbiter Christopher Droney ruled on a grievance filed by former NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. The grievance alleged NFL teams had colluded to limit guaranteed money in deals to top quarterbacks after the Cleveland Browns signed Deshaun Watson to a fully guaranteed, five-year, $230 million contract.
Droney ruled that there was insufficient evidence of collusion by the NFL’s owners. However, he stated in his decision that the NFLPA had clearly shown that Goodell and Pash had urged owners to keep guarantees lower at the March 2022 league meeting, which occurred just weeks after Watson inked his deal.
Shortly after Droney’s ruling, the NFL and NFLPA struck a confidentiality agreement to keep the findings secret. As a result, information about Droney’s 61-page ruling did not become public until ‘Pablo Torre Finds Out’ reported on it in June.
The ruling included mentions of several quarterbacks and a series of text messages between Arizona Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell and Los Angeles Chargers owner Dean Spanos after Arizona signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a long-term extension.
“Congratulations on signing Murray,’ Spanos texted Bidwill.
“Thanks Deno! These QB deals are expensive but we limited the fully guaranteed money and have some pretty good language,’ Bidwill wrote back. ‘Thankfully, we have a QB that’s worth paying.”
“Your deal helps us for our QB next year,’ Spanos texted.
“I think many teams will be happy with it once they have a chance to review. Cleveland really screwed things up, but I was resolved to keep the guaranteed [money] relatively ‘low,” Bidwill responded.
None of the quarterbacks mentioned in the evidence – a group that included Murray, Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson – were made aware of what had happened because of the confidentiality agreement.
NFL and NFLPA cover up fake injury grievance ruling
The grievance stemmed from comments made by former NFLPA president JC Tretter, which implied faking injuries was a way for players to avoid fines during contract negotiation holdouts.
‘I think we’ve seen issues – now, I don’t think anybody would say they were fake injuries, but we’ve seen players who didn’t want to be where they currently are, have injuries that made them unable to practice and play, but you’re not able to get fined, and you’re not able to be punished for not reporting,’ Tretter said at the time. ‘So there are issues like that. I don’t think I’m allowed to ever recommend that, at least publicly, but I think each player needs to find a way to build up leverage to try to get a fair deal. And that’s really what all these guys are looking for, is to be compensated fairly.’
A non-injury grievance arbitrator ruled in favor of the NFL on Feb. 20, 2025. However, neither the NFL nor the NFLPA publicly disclosed this outcome in the immediate aftermath of the ruling.
‘The Arbitrator upheld the Management Council’s grievance in its entirety and found that Mr. Tretter’s statements violated the CBA by improperly encouraging players to fake injury,’ read a July statement given by the NFL to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
The statement also clarified the NFL did not allege any specific player faked an injury. Its main issue was with Tretter’s comments being representative of the union condoning or encouraging that behavior, which the league alleged would violate an article in the two parties’ collective bargaining agreement.
Who is Lloyd Howell, and why did he resign?
Howell is the former executive director of the NFLPA. He resigned amid scandal after further scrutiny was applied to his two-year tenure in the role.
Howell wasn’t only responsible for his role in suppressing the two rulings outlined above. It was also revealed he had expensed multiple strip club trips on the NFLPA’s dime and had a part-time consulting gig at The Carlyle Group – a private equity firm that the NFL approved to seek minority ownership stakes in its teams – in addition to his job with the NFLPA.
‘It’s clear that my leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day. For this reason, I have informed the NFLPA Executive Committee that I am stepping down as Executive Director of the NFLPA and Chairman of the Board of NFL Players effective immediately,’ Howell said in a statement. ‘I hope this will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its player members ahead of the upcoming season.’
Why did JC Tretter resign?
Tretter – an eight-year NFL veteran who played with the Green Bay Packers and Browns before serving as the NFLPA’s president from 2020 to 2024 – resigned after scandals rocked the organization.
‘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.’
Initial reporting indicated Tretter had support as a potential executive director of the NFLPA. Instead, the labor union will have to search elsewhere for a replacement for Howell.
Who will be the next head of the NFLPA?
It isn’t clear who will be the next head of the NFLPA. However, Tretter revealed in his interview with CBS Sports there had been a strong preference among the NFLPA executive committee for David White, the former SAG-AFTRA leader, when Howell was selected.
Could the NFLPA executive committee target White after Howell’s failed tenure? Only time will tell.