It's a big week for the NFLPA and the NFL in general. The league could have a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) approved later this week, and on Tuesday, the NFLPA will select a new president, replacing Eric Winston.
One person who will not become the new president is San Francisco 49ers Richard Sherman, who has reportedly elected not to be a candidate for the job, according to Josina Anderson of ESPN.
I'm told #49ers CB Richard Sherman has elected not to be a candidate for the new NFLPA president, per source.
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 9, 2020
The new NFLPA president will be revealed next week, and Sherman is eligible to remain on the executive committee.
Citing player safety as the reason, Sherman, like several veteran players, has been very vocal in his opposition of the proposed CBA. Much of that opposition has been because of the league's ability to increase the regular season for each team by one game, creating a 17-game schedule.
"It's odd to me, and it's always odd when you hear player safety is their biggest concern, and they're really standing up for player safety," Sherman said last month. "Player safety, player safety. But it seems like player safety has a price tag. Player safety up to the point of, 'Hey, 17 games makes us this much money, so we really don't care how safe they are if you're going to pay us this much money to play another game.'
"That's the part that's really concerning for us as a union and us as players because they think that players have a price tag on their health and I don't think we're in the same ballpark in that regard."
While only a majority vote is needed to approve the new CBA, Winston expects the agreement to pass by a significant margin. The proposed CBA appears more appealing to players on the lower end of the pay scale than others, offering things like increased benefits and an increase to the league's minimum salary.
"I would think it would pass. I would think it would pass by a lot. It's important that we let the process play out and important that all players understand the issues and vote their conscience," Winston told Peter King of NBC Sports.
