Tretter, 31, announced his decision Thursday on Twitter, saying he was leaving the game “on my own terms” but also that he was “looking forward to doubling down on my work as president of the NFLPA.” The Browns released Tretter in a salary-cutting move last March, shortly after he was re-elected to a second term as NFLPA president. In the next chapter pic.twitter.com/gDGTlyhZr0 — JC Tretter (@JCTretter) August 25, 2022 Tretter has started every game but one — due to COVID-19 in 2021 — for the Browns over the past five seasons, despite battling knee injuries that limited how much he could practice. With Tretter anchoring the middle, the Browns’ offensive line ranked among the league’s best in 2020 and 2021.
1 Related The Browns, however, released Tretter to clear $8.25 million against the salary cap and replaced him with Nick Harris, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game of the preseason opener against Jacksonville. Instead of making a move to re-sign Tretter, the Browns promoted backup Ethan Pocic to the starting spot. As president of the NFLPA, Tretter helped guide the association through two tumultuous years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, working with the league on protocols to keep players safe. Shortly after the start of Tretter’s first tenure, the league and the association agreed to a new collective labor agreement that added a 17th game to the regular season schedule and expanded the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams. The new CBA also led to higher minimum wages, improved benefits for current and former players, and expanded rosters and coaching staffs. The deal also increased the players’ share of the league’s revenue from 47 percent before the CBA to 48.5 percent last year.
