Penn State QB Sean Clifford, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren discuss improving benefits

Big Ten football players have had conversations with league commissioner Kevin Warren this week about giving athletes a bigger voice in the future and about improving a variety of benefits for players. Warren also spoke with the leader of a nascent players' association about the possibility of having an independent group represent the players in conversations with the league.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford said the conversations with Warren this week have been a positive, collaborative start to giving players a seat at the table in future decisions with the league. He said he and the other players he has spoken with have no intention of creating a union or entering a contentious negotiation with the league at this point.

A spokesperson for the Big Ten confirmed the commissioner spoke with players and separately with Jason Stahl, the founder and executive director of the College Football Players Association (CFBPA). Clifford and Stahl met this summer and formed a plan to organize players in the Big Ten to ask the league for improvements in medical care and a share of future revenue.

Clifford said thus far his conversations with Warren have focused on standardized medical care for players after their college careers have come to an end. He said Warren and leaders at Penn State have been receptive to the initial conversations about how to make a variety of improvements for players and former players.

«It's been a collective group coming together,» Clifford told ESPN on Friday. «Everyone wants players to have more of a voice.»

Stahl spoke to Warren earlier this week about a trio of initial topics the CFBPA wants to negotiate with the Big Ten:

• A representative on each campus who can advocate for players during medical