The NFLPA re-elected DeMaurice Smith as Executive Director yesterday and it wasn’t remotely close. According to ESPN’s Jim Trotter, Smith won by a 14-0 vote.
BREAKING: DeMaurice Smith was re-elected NFLPA executive director tonight by a 14-0 vote of the selection committee….
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) September 20, 2017
Smith’s new term is set to run through 2021, which, ironically, is the same year the NFL contractual bargaining agreement (CBA) ends. DeMauirce Smith has held this role since 2009 and has seen much in his tenure as Executive Director. Smith will continue to lead negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA while they discuss a new CBA deal once the old one runs its course in four years.
DeMaurice Smith has publicly said there may be a work stoppage in 2021 if there is no agreement on a new CBA. Smith believes the current CBA is lopsided and wants to give the players more power. Just last month he told Sports Illustrated’s own Albert Breer,
“I think that the likelihood of either a strike or a lockout in ’21 is almost a virtual certainty. You have a new deal and if it doesn’t get fixed, you head into a certain small-a Armageddon.”
They have four years to figure this out. Hopefully, the NFL and NFLPA can agree upon a new deal that benefits the players, owners, and the league’s fans.
