DeMaurice Smith May Be Reappointed NFLPA Director Without Challengers

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith will be up for re-election in October, and the newest rules could prevent other candidates from challenging him for the job, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

According to the new voting rules, a 14-member selection committee and potentially the board of team-by-team player representatives (depending on the committee's voting results) will decide whether to keep Smith in his current position, which he has held since 2009.

If he wins this October vote, no other candidates will be considered. If he doesn't win, the committee will select between two and four candidates for a vote in March.

Attorney Cyrus Mehri reportedly intended to challenge Smith for the role but could lose the opportunity because of the new procedures.

"It is ironic in a league where players have to compete every single day that De Smith is afraid of competition," Mehri said. "NFL players deserve better."

Smith played a key role in negotiations for the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, which came at the end of a four-month lockout.

He is already planning for a larger work stoppage when the latest CBA expires in 2021. In a recent interview with Albert Breer of The MMQB, he called a strike or lockout "almost a virtual certainty."

While Smith was opposed by eight challengers at the last election in 2015, it appears as though keeping his job will be easier this time around.