The NFLPA’s nightmare saga has a new chapter. 

JC Tretter, the chief strategy officer of the union, is stepping down from his role and has withdrawn himself from consideration for the interim executive director position of the NFLPA, as he informed CBS Sports on Sunday.

The news comes in the wake of executive director Lloyd Howell Jr.’s resignation last Thursday. 

“In the past few days, the situation has become extremely challenging for my family, and that’s something I cannot manage,” Tretter stated. “To summarize, I have no desire to be the executive director and do not wish to be considered. I have communicated this to the executive committee. I also plan to depart from the NFLPA in the near future because I have nothing more to contribute to the organization.”

Tretter, who had been in his role with the union since October 2024, played eight NFL seasons as a center with the Browns and Packers. 

In 2023, he served as the NFLPA’s player president and guided the hiring process that resulted in the appointment of Howell, who later resigned following revelations about a controversial confidentiality clause and extravagant strip club expenses charged to the union.

“I love the guys, and that’s why I’ve done what I’ve done for the last six years is because I love what they do and who they are and the mission of the organization,” Tretter said. “And I think what I realized this morning when I woke up — after finally getting more than like two hours of sleep — is that I fell in love with the idea of what this place could be. And over the last six weeks, I’ve realized what this place is, and the delta between those two things.

“And I can’t walk into the building anymore, seeing and understanding what I see and understand now.”

In the interview with CBS Sports, Tretter also revealed that though the NFLPA’s board voted for Howell over former SAG-AFTRA director David White, Howell was not the top choice of the union’s executive committee.

Tretter said the committee voted, 10-1, for White over Howell, but the board had differing inclinations. 

The NFLPA has yet to name an executive interim director, but ESPN reported that the union met Sunday night to discuss various candidates for the role, including NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis, executive director of the NFLPA trust Zamir Cobb and NFLPA associate general counsel Ned Ehrlich.