Feb 27, 2026, 04:45 PM ET

The NFL Players Association executive committee has narrowed its search for a permanent executive director to a group of finalists, including interim executive director David White and former union chief strategy officer JC Tretter, according to four sources briefed on the process.

Among the finalists is also American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti, the sources said. The union's 32 player representatives will vote on the finalists at the annual NFLPA meeting in San Diego next month.

In a statement to ESPN, NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin said the executive committee is "conducting a comprehensive search that includes a strong pool of highly qualified candidates. Out of respect for the integrity of the process and those involved, we will not comment on or disclose individual names."

White, Tretter and Pernetti did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

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The NFLPA has been searching for a permanent leader since July, when then-executive director Lloyd Howell resigned following ESPN reporting that he had charged a pair of strip club visits to the union. ESPN also reported that he worked part-time for the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that is seeking minority ownership in NFL franchises, and that the union and league had struck a confidentiality agreement to keep an arbitrator's rulings about possible collusion by NFL owners from players.

In August, the union elected White as its interim executive director. White is the former CEO of 3CG Ventures, an executive coaching and strategic firm, and the former board chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He has extensive labor experience, having served as the leader of the SAG-AFTRA union, with 160,000 members who work in the entertainment industry, from 2009 to 2021. White was also a finalist when Howell was elected in 2023.

While serving in the interim role, White has said union membership has "no appetite" for an 18th regular-season game, which NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has publicly contemplated.

Tretter, who served as the NFLPA's chief strategy officer under Howell, also resigned from his position in the wake of ESPN's reporting last year. Tretter is a retired Cleveland Browns offensive lineman who served as the player president from 2020 to 2024. He was reportedly a candidate to serve as interim executive director after Howell's resignation, but pulled his name from consideration when he stepped down.

Tretter led the 16-month search process that resulted in Howell's election in 2023 and presided over a vote that changed the NFLPA's constitution to make the search and election process more confidential. Last year, he told ESPN he made confidentiality a priority because candidates' names had leaked to the media in past elections.

The names of the finalists for this election are known to the executive committee and the finalists themselves, and confidentiality again has been a priority, other sources familiar with the process have told ESPN. Two player reps who spoke to ESPN this week said the executive committee hadn't yet told them who the finalists are.

When he resigned, Tretter told CBS Sports that he denied having access to the collusion grievance or having any involvement in the confidentiality agreement that Howell struck with the league.

Pernetti has been the American Conference commissioner since June 2024. He was previously the president of Florida's IMG Academy, an athletic powerhouse high school that produces some of the top football recruits in the country. He has also held leadership roles at sports and entertainment company Endeavor and Major League Soccer.

Other candidates for the permanent executive director role included Dominique Foxworth, a former player and ESPN commentator who was the NFLPA president from 2012 to 2014; Matt Schaub, a former player rep who was a candidate in 2023; and Jeff Saturday, a former player and ESPN commentator, according to three other sources familiar with the process.

Schaub did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Saturday confirmed to ESPN that he interviewed for the role with the firm that the union hired to run the search, but not with the executive committee. Foxworth also said he was interviewed by the firm but not the executive committee.

"I'm extremely disappointed," Foxworth said. "I hope they get it right this time."

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