JC Tretter announces his retirement from the NFL; he will continue as president of the players’ association

The Browns decided to make room in the salary cap by not offering another contract to Jc Tretter

The former center of cleveland browns, JC Tretter, retires from American football after eight seasons in the NFLbut will remain in his role as president of the NFL Players Association.

JC Tretter31, shared her decision Thursday on Twitter and noted that he is leaving the sport “on my own terms” but also that he “looks forward to doubling down on my work as president of the NFLPA.”

The Brown’s they released JC Tretter to adjust the salary cap in March, just after he was re-elected for a second term as president of the NFLPA. Tretter said in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he believes his work with the union played a role in his not re-signing after the Browns released him in March.

“There are teams right now that I would say are desperate for a center based on how camp is going,” Tretter told Sports Illustrated. “No calls yet.”

JC Tretter he started all but one game, due to COVID-19 in 2021, for Brown’s for the past five seasons despite battling knee injuries that limited how much he could practice. Under Tretter, the Browns’ offensive line ranked among the best in the league in 2020 and 2021.

The cleveland brownshowever, released JC Tretter to clear $8.25 million against the salary cap and replaced him with Nick Harris, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on the second play of the preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead of making a move to re-sign Tretter, the Browns promoted the reserve. Ethan Pocic.

While still playing, Tretter thought his efforts off the field would have an impact on his future.

“Guys would ask, ‘Oh, how are your knees?'” Tretter told SI. “And I always said, ‘My job in the NFLPA will end my career long before my knees do.”

As president of the NFLPATretter helped guide the union through two turbulent years amid the pandemic, collaborating with the league on protocols to keep players safe.

Shortly after the first term of office began Tretterthe league and union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that added a 17th game to the regular season schedule and expanded the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams.

The new CBA resulted in higher minimum salaries, better benefits for current and former players, and expanded lineups and practice squads. It also increased the players’ share of league revenue from 47% before the CBA to 48.5% last year.

Associated Press contributed to this report.