JC Tretter: NFLPA would decline to negotiate with NFL in short term

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In his first public comments since becoming executive director of the NFL Players Association — via an interview with a subscription platform that plenty of his constituents likely don't subscribe to — JC Tretter addressed the critical question of Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. The current deal runs through the 2030 season. However, the NFL and NFLPA can negotiate about any subject at any time. On the heels of the last CBA, for example, the pandemic forced the two sides back to the table for a mini-CBA to address the short- and long-term consequences of a full season with a smattering of in-stadium revenue. There's a sense among those in the know (and me) that the NFL has been biding its time on two key questions for which time is of the essence: The expansion of the regular season from 17 to 18 games (along with an increase in permissible international games from 10 per year to 16). The league clearly wants those things. Patriots owner Robert Kraft earlier this year spoke about them as a given . And for good reason. The NFL will get 18 regular-season games and 16 international games, sooner or later. Come 2031, they'll lock the players out until they say "uncle" as to the two things the league covets. As everyone learned from both the 1987 strike and the 2011 lockout, one side (management) will shut the sport down for a year to get what it wants. The other side (labor) won't go without a season of play and pay to resist it. So if it's inevitable in five years, the question is whether the timetable can be accelerated. The thinking is that the NFL will chase the bouquet the Commissioner threw to Tretter last week with an effort to get down to business. Here was the key question, from Mike Jones of The Athletic : "How quickly do you think that these owners are going to ask you guys to come to the table?" "Uh, now, because they can ask, right?" Tretter said. "They could call me tomorrow and ask. The answer is no . We’re not in a position to do that. . . . We’re not willing to do that. In the end, those are decisions that will be made by our players, our executive committee, our board. They just hired the director. I need to come in and make sure that this organization stabilizes. I think David [White] did a great job. Kudos to David White for stepping in in a really difficult time and stabilizing the organization. I need to continue that, and I need to start building us forward. And the time for stabilizing has really ended. We’ve stabilized now. We need to start building up to do the things we need to do. "That’s what I’m tasked with. It’s looking forward to doing that. . . . But we’re not going to start [negotiating] until we’re ready to start, because if we start before we’re ready, we’re not going to succeed in our job. . . . I’m sure they’ll ask. I’m sure they’ll poke around. That’s not surprising. They’ve been kind of poking around publicly, at least for a while, but that’s fine. It’s their job to ask. Our job is to be ready. Our job is to be prepared, and our job is to succeed. That’s what we’re focused on doing." Ready or not, here they come. It may be less of a negotiation and more of a presentation. My own theory (crackpot or otherwise) is that the league will communicate in the very near future a comprehensive offer for an 18-game season and 16 international games. The details are likely already in place, with next week's annual meetings likely serving as the vehicle for getting final approval to proceed. The off…