Amid scrutiny, Lloyd Howell out as NFLPA executive director

NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned late Thursday night, ending his embattled two-year tenure as the leader of the union.

“It’s clear that my leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day,” Howell, 59, said in a statement released by the union. “For this reason, I have informed the NFLPA Executive Committee that I am stepping down as Executive Director of the NFLPA and Chairman of the Board of NFL Players effective immediately. I hope this will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its player members ahead of the upcoming season.”

Sources told ESPN that Howell resigned on his own and surprised some members of the NFLPA’s 10-person executive committee, which had selected the former chief financial officer of Booz Allen Hamilton as a finalist for the top job following a 16-month search shrouded in secrecy.

As recently as late Wednesday night, two executive board members gave a ringing endorsement to Howell’s leadership in an interview with ESPN.

“We felt great about the process,” one of them said. “We are 100 percent behind Lloyd.”

And on Sunday, the executive committee backed Howell in a message sent to membership, saying it had “established a deliberate process to carefully assess the issues that have been raised and will not engage in a rush to judgement.”

The resignation of Howell, an unlikely choice for union chief after nearly 30 years at the technology consulting firm Booz Allen, came after several reports from ESPN and the podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out.

In May, ESPN reported that the FBI is investigating the financial dealings of the NFLPA and the MLB Players Association related to a multibillion-dollar group-licensing firm, OneTeam Partners. According to sources, the report triggered the NFLPA to hire Ronald C. Machen of law firm Wilmer Hale to review Howell’s activities as the executive director. The FBI investigation, which is being conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, is continuing, sources say.

Last week, ESPN reported that Howell is working as a paid, part-time consultant for the Carlyle Group, one of the league-approved private equity firms seeking ownership in NFL teams. Howell was asked by a union lawyer to consider resigning for conflict of interest reasons, a source said, but another source said he’d do his “due diligence” on the question. He remains as a consultant to the Carlyle Group.

ESPN also reported last week that Howell struck a confidentiality agreement with the NFL six months ago that hid the details of a January arbitration decision from players, including a finding that league executives urged team owners to reduce guaranteed player compensation. The 61-page ruling was published by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast on June 24.

At least a dozen player reps and executive committee members that ESPN has sought comment from declined, and multiple sources say the union urged members not to talk to the media.

Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the executive committee is in touch with player membership, and the board of player representatives is expected to meet as soon as possible to figure out the next steps, which could include naming an interim executive director.

Howell succeeded DeMaurice Smith as the head of the NFLPA, which represents nearly 2,000 pro football players. Smith was head of the union from 2009 to 2023. Prior to Smith, the union was led by Gene Upshaw.