New updates to NFLPA conspiracy lawsuits against the NFL
The NFLPA is suing the outcome of a conspiracy lawsuit against the NFL. But the union initially seemed to fill it up.
- Demauris Smith’s book, Turf Wars: The Battle of the Souls of the American Souls, was released on August 5th.
- In his new book, Demauris Smith writes about his chilly interactions with Lloyd Howell.
- Demauris Smith tentatively “must be” in his previous role in the NFLPA.
This may be the perfect time for Demaurice Smith to promote his book on his personal journey and tenure as executive director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
Lloyd Howell, the man who was elected to replace Smith in 2023, resigned embarrassingly last month. JC Tretter, a former centre and union president who gained strong influence in recent years, has also stepped down from his role as Chief Strategy Officer.
Also, there are so many questions related to the lack of transparency, particularly from the election process and information from the arbitration ruling that is not shared with membership and the player union falls into great confusion when David White begins as interim executive director.
Smith’s book, Turf Wars: Battle for the Souls of the American Games (Random House, 368 pages, $32) was released by chance on August 5th. Leadership is an important theme.
“Like a bit, we’ve seen them play in an unfortunate way over the past two months,” Smith told USA Today Sports. “My hope is for players to learn from it and spend time in what I’ve come here to call “ruthless introspection.” And I hope they turn it around.
That final point is controversial given the confusion that comes from the terrible revelation that Pablo Torre exposed on his podcast, considering it is “discovered by Pablo Torre.” Torre has announced a 61-page ruling from independent arbitrator Christopher Downey from a 2022 lawsuit filed by the NFLPA alleging conspiracy by team owners kept secret from the union.
He revealed that another ruling has decided that Tretter encouraged players to disguise their injuries while they were engaged in contract consultations. He then revealed that Howell is a part-time consultant for Carlisle Group, a private equity company approved by the NFL to invest in NFL teams, and is an obvious conflict of interest.
ESPN then reported that Howell’s expense report for a visit to strip the club sparked further scrutiny of his actions as union president.
Smith did not specifically address the case of exploding for the NFLPA, citing the non-segregation clause in separation from the union, but he intervened interim through interim for White (runner-up when Howell was selected), and the search begins for the permanent executive director.
Previously executive director and chief negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), White was selected on August 3rd by a vote of player representatives from all 32 teams.
Is this an important issue with white?
“First of all, 2030 is not as far as you would think,” Smith said. “The changing media landscape is interesting, but I think the most pressing issue is how to take a group of players who are not in the fight and teach them what the union should do.”
When Smith replaced the late gene uplift and began his 14-year tenure in 2009, there certainly was no adaptation period. At the brief end of the last CBA that Upshaw negotiated, the fight was already ongoing as the owner of the NFL, but in 2011 he declared that he would opt out of the labor agreement and keep players out.
“It made the role of education and making the players a little easier to prepare for war.
In the end, Smith led the NFLPA to two long labor agreements. The last one attacked during the pandemic in 2020. Now, the league is full of desire to eventually expand its schedule to 18 games. This should be negotiated as part of the CBA.
The leadership of the NFLPA is undoubtedly looming as the advantage that the NFL will launch for the next CBA. The current collective agreement allows players to receive 48% of their NFL revenue, driving the record 2025 salary cap of $279.2 million.
“The biggest job for Labour leaders is to teach and how important it is to focus on the right issues,” Smith said. “Understand that you are in the labor management paradigm. It’s always a battle.”
Looking back at his tenure, including the Covid-19 crisis, Smith said that one of his regrets was that he escaped the hardcore teachings he highlighted from 2009-2017.
“Now is an opportunity for players to return to their roots,” Smith said. He cites key figures from the timeline for decades at the NFL frontline and beyond.
“If you don’t know who Bill Radovich is, who Freeman McNeill is, who Reggie White is, if you don’t know who Reggie White is, if even players who aren’t there in 2030 don’t understand the importance of Kurt Flood or Oscar Robertson, then you don’t do that right.
“Whether the issue is commissioner discipline, 18th game, or practice time, if the player doesn’t understand the history and necessity of combat, you don’t get it right.”
Shortly after Howell and Tretter’s resignation, I reached out and asked Smith if I would consider tentatively returning to his previous role to help the NFLPA lead to that adversity. He smirked.
“It’s definitely not,” he said. “This is the challenge players need to solve for themselves.”
In his book, Smith recalls a chilly exchange with Howell during the transition. Smith said he was planning to write a letter of his successor and leave it on his old desk – in the tradition of the US president – but had the idea after his only interaction with Howell. He folded the letter and stuffed it in his pocket.
“If anyone is really interested in getting it right, I wrote that letter in the hope that it will help frame what the job is,” Smith said last weekend.
He wanted to be a resource. In particular, I have never met Upsho, who passed away on August 20, 2008, three days after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“I didn’t have a day at work that I wanted to wake up and talk to Jean,” Smith said. “I’m not a child. There was no Fliccan day.”
He vowed that he could be used for white. It is unclear how much whiter the resource will be raised. Smith certainly shares his thoughts on how players will be affected by changes in the NFL business dynamics.
The deal was announced last week, and the NFL resonated with a 10% stake in ESPN.
“It reminds me of the size of this business,” Smith said. “Are they trying to make $25 billion in revenue next year? This is competition and the ruthlessness of this business is much stronger than the field. And it’s very intense on the field.
“(In the case of ESPN) you’d be interested to know if there’s a change in the rights fee,” he added. “These are things the unions need to understand. But most importantly, once you understand it, do you need to decide how to fight it for your fair distribution? If anyone thinks it’s just a lazy idle, then think it’s a cuff off cuff comment from Roger (Goodell), when he said it, maybe a few months ago, he thought the players were too high.
That is, NFL players will quickly reset their union priorities and lean early on for the next labor war that is sure to come.
Contact jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow us on social media. x: @jarrettbell. Bluesky: jarrettbell.bsky.social.
