Back in 2022, the NFLPA filed a grievance accusing NFL team owners of colluding to prevent quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, and Kyler Murray from securing fully guaranteed contracts after Deshaun Watson’s deal. In June 2025, it was revealed that an arbitrator dismissed the grievance, citing insufficient evidence of collusion. Now, months later, the newly re-elected NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin has come forward and dismissed the allegations made against the current executive director of the union in relation to that case.

“There have been questions about JC’s candidacy, so it’s important to address that directly, and with facts,” Reeves-Maybin wrote in his article. “Multiple investigations, conducted by two independent outside law firms, found no evidence JC engaged in any of the alleged wrongdoing, was involved in any misconduct by others, or withheld information from players. No quid pro quo. On the collusion grievance specifically, JC was not involved in hiding the arbitration or decision-making about next steps; he did not have access to the ruling.” 

In 2025, then-NFLPA President and the current executive director of the union, JC Tretter, faced backlash over how he handled the case. Reports suggested that Tretter had known about the grievance ruling as early as January 2025, but he did not immediately inform players. Fast forward to the present day, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin posted a long article on the union’s website with a paragraph devoted to insisting that Tretter was not involved in any wrongdoing while he was the union president from 2000 to 2024.

According to Reeves-Maybin, investigations revealed that JC Tretter had no role in hiding the outcome in Lamar Jackson and Co.’s case from players for more than five months until Pablo Torre revealed it. But while Torre made the 61-page ruling public through his Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast in June last year, he had suggested that Tretter knew about the ruling and even called Russell Wilson a “wuss” in private messages for not getting the fully guaranteed contract. 

When NFL players saw the ruling, many were confused and frustrated about why they were not informed about something so important earlier. A confidential agreement had reportedly kept details of the ruling hidden, and attorney Peter Ginsberg, who has represented several NFL players for years, had even mentioned at that time that he was shocked by it.

“As the head of the union, Lloyd has an obligation to protect the best interests of the players,” Ginsberg told ESPN last year. “By agreeing to a confidentiality agreement, the union purposefully blocked the players from receiving crucial information about the operations of the NFL. The NFL and the union should not be conspiring together to keep important information from the players.”

According to ESPN, Lloyd Howell Jr., the former executive director of the NFLPA, had briefed Reeves-Maybin and a group of 10 active players about the ruling in Lamar Jackson and Co.’s case. However, Howell didn’t share the arbitrator’s detailed findings or provide copies of the ruling to the players. Instead, Howell reportedly blamed his predecessor, DeMaurice Smith, for initiating what he described as a costly three-year legal battle by filing the grievance in 2022.

Last year, sources familiar with the NFLPA’s history told ESPN that they couldn’t recall a previous instance where such a confidentiality agreement prevented sharing arbitration results with 32 player representatives and the union’s executive committee.

Who is to blame for the grievance ruling kept hidden from Lamar Jackson and Co?

Under the confidentiality agreement between the union and the NFL, officials limited access to the 61-page arbitration ruling in Lamar Jackson and Co.’s case. As per the agreement, the ruling was only accessible to the NFL and union lawyers, along with a small group of senior executives, while the NFLPA evaluated its next legal steps. So now, that secrecy in the ruling was blamed not on JC Tretter, Reeves-Maybin, or Lloyd Howell Jr., but on the union’s lawyers.

“As we told the Board of Player Reps back in June, the choice to delay release of the decision was made by the NFLPA’s legal department in consultation with outside counsel to protect member confidentiality and prevent the NFL from attempting to recover legal fees,” he wrote.

Interestingly, the arbitrator did find that the league office attempted to persuade teams to limit fully guaranteed contracts in Lamar Jackson and Co.’s case. The NFL still tried to recover legal fees and failed. Under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), appeals must be filed within 10 days. However, sources told ESPN last year that the confidentiality agreement allowed the NFLPA to extend that deadline and gave the NFL extra time to pursue legal costs. 

Last year, one anonymous NFLPA player representative also told ESPN that even after the ruling in Lamar Jackson and Co.’s case became public, the union didn’t communicate with player representatives about it. That silence only deepened mistrust between the NFL players and the union. At the same time, veteran agent Mike McCartney also told ESPN that the arbitrator’s conclusion would have been useful to agents and NFL players like the Baltimore Ravens QB Jackson in negotiating deals if it had been revealed back in January.

“In the end, transparency protects everyone: players, agents, and the integrity of the process,” McCartney told ESPN last year.

Ultimately, it’s clear the NFLPA isn’t just dealing with a legal setback – it’s dealing with a credibility problem. Moving forward, the union faces a critical challenge as it needs leadership that not only stands up to the NFL but also prioritizes transparency within its own ranks.