NFLPA President JC Tretter Says 'Not All Deals Are Perfect', 'We Now Must Unite'
March 15, 2020
It was announced on Sunday morning that the NFL Players Association voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement.
Cleveland Browns center J.C. Tretter, voted as the new NFLPA president on March 10, released a statement on the decision:
"We understand that not all deals are perfect, and we don't take the gains we wanted, but couldn't get, lightly," Tretter wrote in part. "We now must unite and move forward as a union."
The vote tally was 1,019 to 959 in favor of the new CBA, per the NFLPA, which takes effect immediately and will run through 2030.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith also offered statements:
There are several key changes:
Prominent players such as Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Watt, Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson publicly voiced their disagreement with the proposed CBA. A sticking point seemed to be the added 17th regular-season game.
ESPN's Dan Graziano and Cameron Wolfe reported on March 9 that players who had already cast their vote would not be allowed to change their minds despite many requesting to do so. Given how close the vote tally was, that could have made a difference in the outcome.
The new league year is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.