Recently re-signed by the Lions, Jalen Reeves-Maybin will take on a high-profile off-field post as well. The NFLPA elected the veteran linebacker to be its next president.
NFLPA presidents are elected by the board of player reps; Reeves-Maybin will succeed former center J.C. Tretter in the role. Tretter held the job for four years, being elected in March 2020. Reeves-Maybin had previously served as NFLPA vice president.
While Tretter’s appointment came just after players ratified the current CBA, the former Packers and Browns blocker was in place as COVID-19 changed the NFL for a stretch. That brought a host of challenges in multiple seasons, most notably a 2020 campaign that featured a radically adjusted offseason program and many venues without fans due to the pandemic. Reeves-Maybin will enter his union presidency on smoother terrain.
Tretter’s four-year term follows Eric Winston‘s six-year duration in the role. Reeves-Maybin will be the first Black NFLPA chief since Domonique Foxworth held the job from 2012-14. Reeves-Maybin, 29, has seven years of NFL experience — all but one of those seasons coming with the Lions. Primarily working as a backup and special-teamer, Reeves-Maybin signed with the Texans in 2022 but returned to Detroit last year. After earning second-team All-Pro acclaim for special teams work in 2023, Reeves-Maybin agreed to a two-year, $7.5MM deal to stay earlier this offseason.
No CBA talks will be in the offing in the immediate future, with the current agreement not expiring until 2031. A Tennessee alum who arrived in Detroit as a 2017 fourth-round pick, Reeves-Maybin will be working alongside new NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell.
Good thing they waited to announce this until after he signed his extension, otherwise he might have been blackballed.
I’m actually surprised the NFLPA didn’t elect a president with a Taylor Swift connection…lol.
Peace time president
The Era of Good Feelings (Cap Space)