The National Football League Players' Association has been without a leader since the death of Gene Upshaw in August. But the union is now just hours away from choosing its next executive director.
Each of the four remaining candidates for the position -- Trace Armstrong, David Cornwell, Troy Vincent and DeMaurice Smith -- is meeting with the player representatives in Hawaii, and the final vote on the union's new chief is scheduled to take place Sunday at 7:30 PM ET.
Liz Mullen of Sports Business Daily reports that candidates will spend the afternoon meeting with small groups of player representatives, and then starting at 6:30 each candidate will give a final 15-minute presentation to the whole group. It's still not known whether the final poll will be taken with a secret ballot or by an open vote.
The process of finding Upshaw's successor has been rancorous, and there will no doubt be some hurt feelings no matter the final outcome. But the union members also know that they need to emerge from Sunday night's vote united, as the Players' Association and the owners are about to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, one that will go a long way toward shaping the future of the league. By Sunday night, either Armstrong, Cornwell, Vincent or Smith will emerge as one of the most powerful and important people in American sports.
