NFLPA Officers

The Board elects the NFLPA executive officers from among its ranks. The executive officers include the President and ten (10) Vice Presidents. The Executive Director is the principal administrative officer. The officers and the Executive Director are members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee manages and transacts the business and affairs of the NFLPA between meetings of the Board of Player Representatives. Executive officers are elected for a two-year term in even-numbered years at the annual meeting of the Board of Player Representatives. They must have been members in good standing for one-year to be eligible to serve.

Executive Committee

Board of Player Representatives

DeMaurice Fitzgerald Smith is the Executive Director of the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA). He was elected unanimously by a board of active player representatives on March 16, 2009 and re-elected unanimously to a second term on March 29, 2012. ESPN opined that Smith had assumed the toughest job in sports by succeeding the late Gene Upshaw and heading into the most contentious and public labor/management battle in sports history.

On August 4, 2011, Smith signed a 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement with NFL management, leading the Players through the owners’ 132-day lockout. Smith and his team employed a novel multi-faceted strategy that combined a successful legal attack on the NFL’s lockout funds, a federal and local legislative agenda, creative use of social media and the unprecedented securing of the first employee anti-lockout insurance policy. The new CBA codifies new health and safety protocols for Players, achieved longer off-seasons, significantly reduces the amount of contact during practices, provides for unannounced inspections of training camps, creates the first compliance and accountability structure for NFL medical personnel, and provides the Players’ with their highest share of TV contract revenues in history.

Prior to his post at the NFLPA, Smith was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia and was Counsel to then Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. He was awarded the US Attorney’s Office highest honor for courtroom advocacy and the Department of Justice’s highest honor by US Attorney General Janet W. Reno. Smith served as a Partner in firms of Latham & Watkins, LLP and Patton Boggs, LLP, in Washington, D.C. where he represented corporations, boards of directors and senior executives in civil and criminal matters.

Smith has been awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, the Keeper of the Dream Award, by the Action Network Alliance, the City of Justice Award by the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and was inducted into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’ Hall of Excellence. He serves on the Board of Directors for ULLICO; The Board of Directors for the US Congressional Award; and The Board of Advisors for the Office for Access and Advancement for Public Black Universities. Smith Chairs the Annual Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Fundraising Dinner and has been named one of the top 10 most influential executives in sports.

He is a 1989 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and a 1985 graduate of Cedarville University. Smith is on the Faculty of the National Trial Advocacy College in Charlottesville, Virginia; Executive in Residence and the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia, and is a guest lecturer at Georgetown University, Columbia University, Harvard University, George Washington University, and the University of Virginia School of Law. He has also been a guest speaker at the New York Stock Exchange, Commencement speaker for the University of Maryland and for the Howard University School of Law (2012).

Executive Committee

 

JC Tretter | President

A graduate of Cornell, Tretter was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2013 NFL Draft and spent his first three seasons there before signing with the Cleveland Browns in 2017. The next year, he was elected as one of the team’s alternate player reps and served as a consistent, informative voice for his teammates as well as other players across the league.

Tretter was elected as the NFLPA’s president in March 2020 during the annual Board of Player Representatives meeting, and unanimously re-elected to a second term in March 2022. In this role, he is able to put his degree in industrial labor relations to good use. During the voting period for the current CBA, the veteran offensive lineman played a pivotal role in educating the full player membership about the pros and cons of the proposal so that they were best informed to make a decision.
 

Tretter’s leadership helped secure amendments to the CBA that put key COVID-related precautions and measures in place that that protected players and allowed them to earn their full salaries as they completed a full season amid the pandemic.

Calais Campbell | Vice President

Since entering the NFL in 2008, the University of Miami graduate has been a defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars and, most recently, the Baltimore Ravens, following a trade in March. As someone who understands the importance of knowing and exercising your rights as a player, Campbell has been immensely involved in NFLPA and a leader in the locker room. The five-time Pro Bowler has served as a player rep since 2018, was elected to the Executive Committee in 2020 and re-elected in 2022.

Off the field, Campbell has changed many lives for the good by giving back to his hometown and team cities. Alongside his mother and seven siblings, he started the CRC foundation in honor of his late father, Charles Richard Campbell, to enhance the local community through teaching critical skills to young people. He’s made multiple donations to several charitable initiatives during his time in the league, including $1.6 million to establish a scholarship fund for defensive lineman at his alma mater and his 2019 Season of Giving campaign, during which he raised nearly $75,000 through donations based on his on-field performance and donated $5,000 each to for Denver charities. For the latter initiative, he was named an NFLPA Community MVP and the NFL’s 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Austin Ekeler | Vice President

The Los Angeles Chargers running back, who was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, has been involved in the NFLPA since 2018. After serving as a first alternate, he was elected as the Chargers player rep in 2021 before being voted onto the Executive Committee in March 2022.

Off the field, Ekeler launched his own charity, the Austin Ekeler Foundation, which helps create opportunities for people to fulfill their passion and guide them through life. His organization has helped renovate a high school gym into a state-of-the-art fitness center, give back to the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center and provide five schools in Los Angeles with washers, dryers and detergent so that students can have clean clothes.
 

Ryan Kelly | Vice President

Selected during the first round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts, the former Alabama Center made an immediate impact and has been named to three Pro Bowls.

Kelly has served as the Colts’ player representative since 2020. He was voted onto the NFLPA Executive Committee at the annual Board of Player Representatives meeting in 2022.
 

Alex Mack | Treasurer

The University of California center has been a tremendous leader throughout his NFL career. Selected during the first round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, the six-time Pro Bowler was awarded the 2015 Ed Block Courage Award by his teammates for his dedication and commitment to recovering from a broken leg. After signing with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016, he helped lead the team to their first Super Bowl berth in 2017.
 

Mack was elected as the NFLPA’s treasurer in March 2020 during the annual Board of Player Representatives meeting and was re-elected in March 2022 for another two-year term.

Jason McCourty | Vice President

Drafted out of Rutgers in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, McCourty has gone on to become a Super Bowl champion, locker room leader for multiple teams and a stalwart in the community. The veteran defensive back first became a player rep with the Titans in 2013 before being elected to the Executive Committee in March 2022.

Off the field McCourty has teamed up with his twin brother, Jason (who also is a union leader and NFL defensive back) to launch their Tackle Sickle Cell campaign, which aims to educate the public and increase blood donors as well as raise money and awareness to fight against the disease. They hold an annual fundraiser for the Boston Medical Center, for which they were honored as NFLPA Community MVPs in 2018.

Brandon McManus | Vice President
 

After signing with Indianapolis as an undrafted free agent out of Temple, McManus has been the starting kicker for the Denver Broncos since 2014. His play helped the team win Super Bowl 50.

In 2017, McManus became the player representative for the Broncos and has been a dependable player leader for his locker room. In 2022, McManus was elected to the Executive Committee.

The veteran kicker has made his mark in the Denver community through the Project McManus foundation, which he launched in 2019. He has twice been named a NFLPA Community MVP in 2020 and 2021 for helping restaurants and single-parent households during the pandemic and hosting a holiday giving initiative, respectively
 

Thomas Morstead | Vice President

The punter and kickoff specialist from SMU was selected in 2009 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and went on to win a Super Bowl in his first pro season. Morstead was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and previously served as the team’s elected player union representative.

In 2018, he was voted onto the NFLPA Executive Committee and re-elected in 2020 and 2022 to once again serve as a steadfast leader for the full player membership.

Off the field, Morstead formed his charity – What You Give Will Grow, a Thomas Morstead Foundation – to improve the lives of those in need through the support of local causes and organizations, focusing primarily on pediatric cancer. After the 2018 NFC Divisional game versus the Minnesota Vikings, when Morstead returned to the field in the final seconds following what appeared to be a walk-off Saints loss, Vikings fans donated more the $140,000 to his foundation. Morstead, in turn, decided to donate all the contributions to the Children's Hospital in Minnesota.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin | Vice President

The University of Tennessee linebacker was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent his first five seasons with the franchise before signing with the Houston Texans in 2022.

Reeves-Maybin became a player leader in 2021, when he was elected as Detroit’s first alternate, before running and being voted on to the NFLPA Executive Committee in 2022.

Richard Sherman | Vice President

Born in Compton, California, Sherman excelled both on the field as a football and track star, and in the classroom as salutatorian with a 4.2 GPA at Dominguez High School. After a stellar career at Stanford University, the outstanding cornerback was picked by Seattle in the fifth round in the 2011 Draft. Sherman anchored the defense and helped lead the Seahawks to back-to-back NFC Championships in 2013 and 2014, as well as their first Super Bowl title in 2014. The lockdown cornerback has been named a Pro Bowler four times, in addition to taking home the NFC Defensive Player of the Year award in 2014.

Sherman has been a player representative since 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. He was voted onto the NFLPA’s Executive Committee in 2016 and was re-elected in 2018, 2020 and 2022 to continue his vocal, passionate leadership.

Off the field, Sherman formed his charity – Blanket Coverage, A Richard Sherman Family Foundation – in 2013 in order to provide students in low-income communities with clothing and supplies to help them work towards achieving their goals. His work to help raise funds, including a personal $5,000 donation, for a Compton youth football team to attend the national championship in Florida earned him NFLPA Community MVP honors in 2019.

Michael Thomas | Vice President

The Stanford graduate is one of the NFLPA’s most active players both on and off the field. After playing one season with San Francisco as an undrafted free agent in 2012, Thomas spent the next five seasons as a free safety and special teams standout for the Miami Dolphins. In March 2018, Thomas signed a contract with the New York Giants and was named to his first Pro Bowl that same season. In 2021, he signed on with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he helped take them to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1989.

Thomas became a player rep for the Dolphins in 2016 before going on to be the rep for the Giants as well as a team captain. He was voted onto the Executive Committee in 2018 and re-elected in 2020 and 2022.

The defender’s community involvement in Miami, California and his hometown of Houston include: creating the Big Plays for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami program; being named NFLPA Community MVP during both the 2015 and 2016 seasons for his youth mentorship initiatives; hosting “Camp Mike T” to expose kids to unique opportunities through computer science and college prep programs; participating in a ride-along with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office; partnering with Food for the Hungry and traveling to Haiti in March 2017 to help raise funds to reduce poverty in the country; and launching Aldine Sports Association, a youth sports organization that focuses on community, education and athletics.

Thomas was also a part of the NFLPA’s 2018 and 2019 Externship classes, during which he worked closely with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) to learn more about the political process on Capitol Hill.

Board of Player Representatives

Player Representatives are selected by their teammates in the fall of every even-numbered year.

 

Updated October 2021