Tretter was born in Batavia, New York, the son of Joseph and Cynthia Tretter. He attended Akron Central High School, where he was a standout athlete for the Akron Central Tigers football and basketball teams. He was a three-year starter on offense and defense for the Tigers in football, a team captain as a junior and senior, and was a second-team Class C all-state selection as a senior. In basketball, he was a four-year starter for the Tigers and a three-time first-team all-league selection, and graduated as the team's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
College career
Tretter attended Cornell University, where he played for the Cornell Big Red football team from 2009 to 2012. After playing tight end during his first two seasons, he switched to the offensive tackle position for his final two years. He was credited with the significantly improved pass protection given to Cornell's quarterback in 2011 and 2012. Following his senior season in 2012, he was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection. He also received third-team All-American honors from Beyond Sports College Network and The Sports Network. At Cornell, Tretter studied in the School of Industrial Labor Relations. His sister, Katie, and three of his uncles all attended Cornell. His uncle, David Tretter, played football for Cornell during the mid-1970s.
Professional career
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers selected Tretter in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was the ninth offensive tackle selected and was the second offensive tackle drafted by the Green Bay Packers, behind fourth round pick David Bakhtiari. On May 10, 2013, the Green Bay Packers signed Tretter to a four-year, $2.57 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $415,908. Tretter was placed on reserve/physically unable to perform on August 27, 2013. On December 10, 2013, he was activated from the physically unable to perform list. On September 3, 2014, Tretter was placed on injured reserve – designated for return. He was activated from injured reserve – designated for return on November 3, 2014. In 2016, Tretter started seven games for the Packers before going down with a knee injury in Week 7. He was inactive for the rest of the games in the regular season before having surgery on January 17, 2017. He was placed on injured reserve on January 21, 2017, a day before the NFC Championship matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
Cleveland Browns
On March 9, 2017, the Cleveland Browns signed Tretter to a three-year, $16.75 million contract that includes $6.50 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4.50 million. In his first season in Cleveland, he started all 16 games at center. On November 7, 2019, Tretter signed a three-year, $32.5 million contract extension with the Browns, keeping him under contract through the 2022 season. On March 10, 2020 Tretter was elected President of the NFL Players Association, succeeding Eric Winston.
Personal life
Tretter is married to Anna Tretter. They got married in February 2020.
