The NFL Players’ Association announced that four members of its executive committee have been replaced after the union’s most recent elections. Green Bay Packers kicker Brandon McManus remains a vice president on the executive committee. Joining him this time around on the 10-man committee is new Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin, who previously served as the Indianapolis Colts’ player representative.
Linebacker Oren Burks, drafted by Green Bay but now a Cincinnati Bengal, is also a member of the crew.
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For what it’s worth, right tackle Zach Tom was the Packers’ player representative last season with quarterback Jordan Love, tight end Tucker Kraft and safety Zayne Anderson (now with the Miami Dolphins) as co-alternates.
Earlier today, it was announced that Chicago Bears linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin was re-elected as the NFLPA’s president (the top position for a current player). He will hold that role for two years, and this is his second term at the post.
The big question now is who the NFLPA will vote as its executive director (the leader of the union). Reports have claimed that the leaders for the position are interim executive director David White, former chief strategy officer JC Tretter and the commissioner of the American Conference Tim Pernetti.
Tretter stepped down from the union in July after allegations were made that he and the union participated in horse trading with ownership to cover up statements Tretter had made on podcasts and in private about players.
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White was actually favored in a straw poll of players over Lloyd Howell — who stepped down in scandal in July — when Howell first got the gig with the union. White also comes with baggage, too. While the national executive director of SAG-AFTRA, Deadline reported that White misled the union’s board about his threats to sue a film titled An Open Secret, a documentary which covered sex abuse of child actors, unless the director of the film removed all references to the union.
Hopefully, the union can get its house in order. Ownership is already frothing at the mouth at the idea of an 18-game season and every team playing an international game every year, the NFL is trying to push its league partners to increase their broadcast fees by 50 percent mid-way through their current deals and the players have a collective bargaining agreement that will expire at the end of the 2030 season. If the players don’t want to get steamrolled by ownership, the NFLPA needs much better leadership than it has had in the last year.