NFLPA reportedly backs union head Lloyd Howell Jr. amid collusion scandal, union's reported involvement in covering it up
In a memo that was leaked to multiple NFL reporters Sunday, the NFLPA's executive committee "categorically" rejected reports "insinuating doubts within this committee" or that it had asked Howell to step down from his role as executive director.
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From the leaked memo:
'As members of the NFLPA Executive Committee, we categorically reject false reports insinuating doubts within this committee or suggestions that we have asked our Executive Director to step down. We further reject attempts to mischaracterize the committee's views or divide our membership.
"We have established a deliberate process to carefully assess the issues that have been raised and will not engage in a rush to judgement. We believe in and remain committed to working with our Executive Director and other members of NFLPA staff and player leadership who have a shared mission to advance the best interests of players. As we approach the 2025 season, we look forward to continuing our important work together and ensuring the strength and unity of our association.'
The memo was issued in the wake of multiple explosive reports regarding alleged organized efforts from NFL leadership and owners to stifle guaranteed pay in player contracts.
Reports: NFLPA helped conceal details of alleged NFL collusion
In June, journalist Pablo Torre uncovered a 61-page ruling by arbitrator Christopher Droney that previously was not made public and whose details had reportedly been withheld from NFL players by the NFLPA.
Droney's ruling determined that league executives including commissioner Roger Goodell urged team owners to reduce guaranteed player compensation in the wake of a $230 million fully guaranteed contract between the Cleveland Browns and quarterback Deshaun Watson.
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In his ruling, Droney determined that the NFLPA showed "by a clear preponderance of the evidence" that Goodell and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash urged teams to reduce guaranteed money in player contracts.
'There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the March 2022 annual owners' meeting," Droney's ruling reads, per Torre.
In spite of that conclusion, Droney ruled in favor of the NFL, declaring that he could not prove by a "clear preponderance" that NFL teams acted on that advice. Since Watson's deal, multiple high-level quarterbacks including two-time league MVP Lamar Jackson, have signed contracts that did not come with fully guaranteed money.
What the NFLPA reportedly hid from players
On July 9, ESPN reported that the players' union worked in tandem with the league to hide crucial details of the arbitration ruling from players, including Droney's conclusion that NFL management "encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts."
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Instead, per the report, Howell informed players of the broad strokes of the ruling, including that Droney ultimately ruled in favor of the NFL. Why Howell and the NFLPA would have done this is not clear.
From the ESPN report:
"Howell informed the committee that the NFLPA had lost its collusion grievance but did not share any details of Droney's findings or share copies of the ruling with the players. Instead, he blamed his predecessor, DeMaurice Smith, for wasting resources on the three-year legal battle."
Reported conflict of interest for Howell emerges
Placing Howell under further scrutiny, ESPN reported on July 10 that Howell is working as a part-time consultant for the Carlyle Group, an NFL-approved private equity firm seeking minority ownership in NFL franchises. The report exposes a clear conflict of interest for the man in charge of representing players in negotiations with league owners.
"It would be an outrageous conflict for the head of a labor union to have an interest in a third party that is aligned with the NFL," former NFLPA counsel Jim Quinn told ESPN. "The relationship between a labor organization and the employer organization is adversarial by definition, and as a result, as a leader, you have to be absolutely clear and clean as to having no even appearance of conflict."
Since those reports, Torre reported that a Change.org petition has circulated among NFLPA staff and NFL players calling for Howell's resignation from the NFLPA. It's not clear who organized the petition or if any players or NFLPA staff members had signed it.
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Howell has not publicly addressed any of the reports since they've been published and declined comment to ESPN regarding the Carlyle Group report.
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