NFLPA interim boss: 18-game regular season 'not inevitable'

An 18-game NFL season that once seemed inevitable is no longer a certainty.

David White, the interim executive director of the NFL Players Association, told The Associated Press he hasn’t had any conversations with the league about expanding the length of the regular season, which increased to 17 games in 2021.

White said he had a productive meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in New York a couple weeks ago, calling it “a very good start to our relationship” and added they have agreed to an “open and respectful” line of communication.

“The league has the right to bring any issue they want to the table and, presumably, to propose what they’re willing to give to receive what they want in negotiation but we’ll see when that happens,” White said in an exclusive 45-minute interview with the AP that covered various topics. “We haven’t talked about it yet, and it certainly is not inevitable and should not be presented as such.”

Expanding the season requires the two sides to renegotiate the current NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, which expires in March 2031.

As the NFL season gets set to kick off Thursday night in Philadelphia with the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys, White is traveling to different cities to meet with teams and communicate directly with players.

The former SAG-AFTRA executive director replaced Lloyd Howell last month. Howell stepped down in July, citing distractions his leadership had caused.

Restoring confidence in leadership and rebuilding the union’s image are top priorities for White, a veteran labor executive who has guided some of the most prominent entertainment and financial organizations in the world.

“First, understand unions have tumult from time to time so there’s no need to panic or overreact,” White said. “Unions are the house of the members so the NFLPA is the house of the players and that means every action that we take needs to align to our mission, which is to protect and empower the players of the National Football League. And, players need to hear that. Players need to see that in action with the way that we conduct ourselves and through our performance, and we need to remind ourselves of that.”

White said he’s been impressed by the staff he’s met in his first month, calling them creative, intelligent and focused on players.

Three days after Howell stepped down, NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter resigned from his position. Tretter was considered a candidate to replace Howell, who was elected over White two years ago. The NFLPA executive committee chose White by a 10-1 vote but Howell was selected by the 32 player representatives.

White addressed numerous topics with the AP in his first interview since he was elected on Aug. 3. He has resigned from being a member on various boards and has paused his work as the CEO of 3CG Ventures, an executive coaching and strategic consulting firm, as a precondition to assuming his new role.

White declined to comment on the investigation of Howell’s leadership and the federal investigation into One Team Partners, a licensing company founded by the NFLPA and MLBPA.

Last month, ESPN reported the union placed Heather McPhee, one of its top lawyers, on paid administrative leave after multiple employees filed complaints with the union’s human resources department. The decision came months after McPhee’s allegations helped prompt the federal investigation into One Team Partners.

“It had nothing to do with retaliation or whistleblower,” White said. “Retaliation is not something that will happen at this organization so long as I’m here. That’s a personnel issue and I’m not going to say anything at all about it.”

Interest in permanent role as NFLPA executive director

White said: “It’s hard for people to understand this, but I literally am not thinking about it at all. And I’m not just saying that. The board brought me on to turn this place around and my commitment during my time here is that the NFLPA is going to look different after my time here than it did before. If my time is as an interim, then I intend to fulfill that mandate."

Priorities for players

White said: “Players are looking at field conditions. They’re looking at information about their well-being and their injuries. They may have questions that deal with their pay. Particularly, we just came out of a time where some players made the roster and not. What are the opportunities that I have? What are the rights that I have?”

Micah Parsons’ contract negotiations with Jerry Jones

White said: “There was tremendous, tremendous activity around that by our staff and we were in contact with all parties and were working with all parties on that, silently, quietly. And while everyone was asking the question, we don’t negotiate in the press. We don’t do our work in the press. We do our work behind the scenes and whenever possible in partnership and in conjunction with the member and the member’s representatives. And whether you’re talking about Micah Parsons or you’re talking about a number of other late-stage, high-profile negotiations, we were absolutely involved in that. ...

“We intend to enforce every provision of the collective bargaining agreement when we think that there may be a violation. And the best way to do that is to call people and say: ‘Knock it off.’ When both sides are able to do that, when needed, that usually makes for a productive management-labor relationship. When it doesn’t work, for whatever reason, that’s when you take it to the next level, which is to file a grievance to go to court, or to take whatever action is available to you under the collective bargaining agreement. In this instance, and here you’re talking about Jerry and Micah and their representatives and the other folks involved, I will say Micah has found his way to Green Bay with a contract that he has publicly stated makes him happy, and that makes us happy."

Flag football in the 2028 Olympics

White said: “Our players are like every other American citizen. So many of them would jump at the chance to represent their country and the Olympics so the opportunity to do so in a game that reflects the basic principles of American football would be very exciting. We haven’t yet spoken directly with the league about this, but we look forward to doing so.”

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