Peter Schrager wants Andrew Whitworth to lead NFLPA

The NFLPA finds itself scrambling to find a new executive director after Lloyd Howell abruptly resigned last month amid a series of scandals that have shaken the union’s leadership. With no one aggressively advocating for the players’ interests, the union is essentially rudderless.

And when the union is rudderless, talk of an 18-game season should be off the table, at least from the players’ side. That’s exactly why Peter Schrager wants you to put the extra game debate on pause, at least for now. The longtime NFL Network voice, now at ESPN, explained why an 18-game schedule isn’t happening anytime soon, citing the union’s leadership vacuum and uncertainty over who will lead the negotiations moving forward.

Amidst that uncertainty, Mike Florio threw his support behind former Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy to help steady the ship at the NFLPA. But Schrager has a much more sports media-centric pick. He believes the union, which needs at least some resistance, would benefit greatly from hiring one of the best protectors of his generation.

That would be Prime Video’s Andrew Whitworth, who served as an NFLPA representative for the Cincinnati Bengals and was among those wary of playoff expansion. During an appearance on the SI Media with Jimmy Traina podcast, Schrager endorsed Whitworth, but did so while laying out the deeper problems facing the union, including the fact that there’s no one banging down the doors for the players themselves.

“The NFLPA has crumbled a little bit in the last couple of months,” said Schrager. “And I tip my cap, obviously, to Pablo Torre and Mike Florio, to first blow the whistle, and then for Don Van Natta and Kalyn Kahler to come out and just absolutely blow the story open. But the NFLPA right now, it’s all new brass in the last couple of years up top, and then we know there was foul play going on… There’s no leadership on the NFLPA at the moment that’s banging down the doors and leading the union. Which is, who would be the resistance to anything if you’re trying to extend the season?

“Meanwhile, on the NFL side, Hans Schroder’s a very good executive over at the NFL. He’s been there for many years. And Roger Goodell, obviously. But Brian Rolapp was also a big part of those conversations. Brian Rolapp was Roger’s No. 2 in a lot of ways, and Brian moved over to the PGA to be their CEO this past couple of months. So, you have two different things going on where I’m curious to see who the point people are on these conversations.”

And just like the ESPN-NFL Network deal moved forward without Rolapp, Schrager said these talks will continue as well. But he’s especially curious about who will step up as the key player representatives in the negotiations, which is why he seemingly endorsed someone he trusts.

“I’m gonna make a case and he doesn’t even know I’m doing this, because I don’t know if he wants this, but I think Andrew Whitworth should be the next player executive leader,” Schrager said. “Andrew Whitworth, who I’ve gotten to know very well. Former Walton Payton Man of the Year, who works at Amazon now, could do both those jobs at the same time. Whitworth is still very much in touch with the league. He’s one of the reasons we have this new offensive lineman award. He’s the one who brought it to Roger Goodell. He has been a league ambassador in a million ways. And he has the best interest of the players.”

“This would be the perfect next face of the NFL’s Player Union, if they wanted someone who’s actually done it and done it for many, many years. And also knows the current NFL operation. What they’ve historically done is just hire an attorney or hire someone who’s very successful from the outside world and say, ‘OK, he’s going to wear a shirt and tie, and he’s going to represent us and our best interests.’ You need to know how the NFL works. You need to know the inner workings. I think Whitworth would be a great choice.”

Whitworth knows the game, the players, and the business like few others. At a time when the NFLPA is desperate for real leadership, Schrager’s endorsement is basically a call to stop hiring suits who don’t get it and start putting someone in charge who actually does. If the union wants to push back and protect the players, Whitworth is exactly the guy to do it.

But whether he actually wants the gig is the million-dollar question, and one only Whitworth can answer.