Less than 24 hours after Lloyd Howell Jr.’s abrupt resignation as the head of the NFL Players Association, dozens of union representatives convened an emergency two-hour video conference to navigate the escalating crisis and chart a path toward new leadership.
During the Friday night call, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a second alternate player representative, urged the group to learn from the turmoil that had engulfed the union. “We need to get our choice for leader right,” Mahomes stated, according to four individuals briefed on his comments.
Mahomes’ appeal came amid a chaotic four-day period for the 68-year-old union, marked by lengthy nightly conference calls where player reps voiced fear and frustration over the NFLPA’s future. The situation worsened when JC Tretter, a former NFLPA president and the union’s director of strategy, resigned on Sunday. As players struggled to agree on a process for finding a new leader, their primary focus remained on understanding the missteps that led to the crisis, which now involves an outside legal inquiry and an FBI investigation.
Howell, who had secured his position by promising greater transparency, paradoxically emerged from the union’s most secretive election process. His tenure was defined by a repeated failure to be candid with players, a pattern that continued until his final hours as executive director, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the events.
On a Thursday night call with the executive committee, Howell announced he was resigning. The decision followed reports that he was consulting for a private equity firm seeking to invest in NFL franchises and had made a confidential agreement with the NFL to conceal the details of a collusion arbitration ruling.
The committee members, who had consistently backed Howell through a series of revelations about his conduct, were stunned. They vehemently rejected his resignation, with one player on the call noting their reaction was, “No, you’re not.” For three hours, they pressed him to stay, but Howell remained resolute. During the call, he vaguely mentioned visiting strip clubs on the job but said he had used his own money for car service. At 10:38 p.m., he issued a public statement, declaring he had become “a distraction.”
The next day, committee members were shocked to read reports detailing Howell’s expenses, including union-charged transportation to strip clubs in Miami and Atlanta totaling over $3,100. Several sources confirmed that some committee members felt Howell had not told them the full truth. “The guys were very disappointed,” one source said. “They backed Howell through everything… If he failed, their process failed, and they didn’t want to face that.”
Howell has not responded to multiple requests for comment. A senior union executive described Howell’s mistakes as “human failings and errors of judgment,” adding, “Lloyd is a good man. He’s not a villain… If he was guilty of anything, he was not as discerning as he should have been.”
Union leaders are now scrutinizing the 16-month, $500,000 process that led to Howell’s selection as DeMaurice Smith’s successor in 2023. The search firm Russell Reynolds Associates worked with the executive committee to vet candidates under a strict confidentiality policy. Tretter, then the NFLPA president, had championed the secrecy to prevent media leaks that plagued past elections.
However, the process frustrated several candidates. Former players like Matt Schaub and Domonique Foxworth were not advanced to the final rounds, preventing them from making their case directly to player representatives. “The fact that not a single player even got to the semifinals of a process that wasn’t transparent is a slap in the face of every player rep who might like to hear a final argument from someone who wore a helmet,” said Schaub.
The two finalists presented to player reps in June 2023 were Howell and David White, the former head of the screen actors’ union SAG-AFTRA. Russell Reynolds’ background check on Howell had raised red flags, including a whistleblower lawsuit alleging massive overbilling at his former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, and a 2011 sexual discrimination suit that was settled confidentially. Despite this, the executive committee advanced his candidacy, with one member recalling Howell told them he left Booz Allen because he “wanted a new challenge.”
During the election session, player reps were impressed by Howell’s financial acumen and corporate background, believing he could effectively challenge NFL owners. He reportedly told them, “I have been the guy fighting against unions for the corporation. So, I know exactly how they think.” While Tretter and two committee members maintain that Howell was questioned about the discrimination suit, two player reps said the topic never came up before the vote. Howell was elected by a wide margin.
Just three weeks later, Booz Allen settled the whistleblower case with the U.S. government for $377 million. Subsequent reports alleged that Howell had been warned about the overbilling but dismissed the concerns. Union lawyers were reportedly angered that player reps were not fully briefed on these new details.
During his tenure, Howell’s leadership style caused friction. Staffers noted his frequent absence from the office and his decision to merge two parking spaces for his Porsche, numbering them “32” in an apparent homage to O.J. Simpson. He also alienated employees by stating that recent buyouts were necessary to hire staff with “a level of sophistication that they felt they weren’t getting.”
Howell also pursued controversial initiatives. He publicly entertained the NFL’s desire for an 18-game season before reversing his stance under player pressure. He revealed he was moonlighting as a consultant for The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm approved by the NFL to invest in teams. Furthermore, he and other union leaders agreed to keep a January arbitration ruling on contract collusion confidential from players. The ruling found no owner collusion but did find the league office had improperly encouraged teams to limit guaranteed money.
Following a cascade of damaging reports, including news of an FBI investigation into a licensing firm co-founded by the NFLPA, Howell resigned. He has since also stepped down from his roles at The Carlyle Group and the board of Moody’s Corp.
The NFLPA now faces a leadership vacuum. In a statement, the union said it “takes seriously the concerns raised” and is “committed to the values it was founded on, including transparency and progress.”
NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin added, “While our union has been tested of late, we remain committed to the values of integrity, accountability, and progress in serving the best interests of our membership.”
David White, Howell’s opponent in the 2023 election, expressed hope for the union’s future. “What I want is for these men to be protected in one of the most exploitative industries on Earth,” he said.
Domonique Foxworth, a former NFLPA president, suggested the crisis could be a catalyst for positive change. “This obviously was embarrassing, but it got everybody’s attention, and the players are more engaged,” he said. “The strength of the union doesn’t come from some fast-talking lawyers or CFOs. It comes from an engaged and activated body.”
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