JC Tretter discusses NFLPA tenure, controversies on Dan Patrick Show
Days after resigning from his position as NFL Players Association Chief Strategy Officer 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 an NFLPA executive 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," 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 executive 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."
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.
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.
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."