NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith's tenure could soon be coming to an end after 12 years in the position, according to a report.
A vote held by the union's 14-person executive committee to determine whether Smith should continue in the role was split evenly at 7-7, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.
Smith would have kept the job with a unanimous vote according to NFLPA bylaws, the report said.
Instead, the NFLPA will hold another vote, which is scheduled for Friday evening per ESPN, with all 32 team representatives casting ballots.
Smith will retain his position if he secures the votes of at least 22 team reps. If he doesn't, the job will officially become vacant, per ESPN, and is likely to be filled at the NFLPA's annual meetings in March.
If Smith falls short of 22 votes but garners at least 16, he will be permitted to run again in March, though it's not clear he would want to in the face of apparently diminishing support.
Smith's support within the NFLPA has seemingly waned in the past year-plus, specifically after the approval of the latest collective bargaining agreement in March 2020, which many players said was not a good deal.
The CBA runs through 2030, and was passed by a razor-thin margin.
More recently, no less than Tom Brady railed against "ignorant" NFL players after the league announced a massive new media rights deal just a day after the salary cap was decreased for the 2021 season.
"NFL players better wake up, @NFLPA," Brady tweeted.
Smith, a trial lawyer by trade, was elected as executive director in a unanimous vote in 2009. Since then he has advised the players' association for the last decade-plus, including during the lockout of 2011.
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