Sean Clifford releases statement clarifying College Football Player's Association role

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford was in the headlines on Friday but not for football reasons. Instead, his involvement with the College Football Player’s Association was revealed, with some even saying the Nittany Lions star was part of a union.

Clifford released a statement about the situation later Friday evening, clarifying his role within the CFBPA. He said the talks of the College Football Player’s Association being described as a union are inaccurate, even though he has been in discussions with Penn State and the Big Ten. Additionally, Clifford said he is excited about “working together” to evolve in the industry.

Sean Clifford releases statement on CFBPA

“As a student-athlete at Penn State, and a member of the football team, I have had very positive and open discussions with Coach Franklin, Director of Athletics Pat Kraft, and Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren about the changing landscape of college sports and how those changes are, and will continue to, impact-student athletes.

“It is important to state that my dialogues with my coach, athletic director, and commissioner were conducted as a student-athlete. To characterize my dialogues as being on behalf of a union or as a union member would be inaccurate.

“In the last 90 days, the CFBPA presented interesting ideas to me and my teammates with the goal of joining the college football player’s association. However, at this time, I along with many players are committed to working at the campus and conference level to address the complexities of college athletics for student-athletes.

“I am grateful to be a part of a team, university, and conference where our leadership is truly open to listening and learning from its students to further strengthen and safeguard our academic and competitive experiences. Collectively we recognize it will take forward-thinking teamwork and time to address our evolving industry and I believe we are all committed to working together to do it.”

More on College Football Player’s Association, Big Ten

On3’s Pete Nakos was able to speak with Jason Stahl, who is involved with the CFBPA, and spoke with Warren. He said there are three demands the players want out of the Big Ten, with a percentage of media rights being distributed to student-athletes being a major one. Additionally, some health protections for the post-football playing days and medical care for a third party.

Clifford will continue to work toward achieving these goals but needed to clarify where he stood with the CFBPA.