DeMaurice Smith’s days as the NFL Players Association’s executive director could be numbered, according to multiple media outlets.
Smith, who has held the NFLPA’s top position for the past 12 years, reportedly will learn his fate Friday evening. Per numerous reports, the 32 team player representatives will vote on whether to retain Smith, who needs to receive 22 votes to continue in his role.
If he fails to get 22 votes, there would be an election in March to determine the next executive director. Smith could run in that election as long as he receives at least 16 votes in Friday’s balloting.
Smith finds himself in this position because the NFLPA’s executive committee took a vote Tuesday night, according to media reports, and he failed to receive sufficient support from the 14-member committee. A unanimous vote would have kept Smith in his position, likely on a new three-year contract, but the vote reportedly was split evenly at 7-7.
If Smith had received six votes or fewer on Tuesday, his position would have been considered “open” and the process of finding a new executive director would have commenced.
Smith and the union were criticized by some players during the most recent round of collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The current CBA, which will be in place through 2030, was finalized on March 8, 2020, right before sports began to shut down because of the pandemic.
–Field Level Media