A high-ranking executive in the NFL offices says the league anticipates that whoever is appointed interim executive director of the NFL Players’ Association, following the resignation of Lloyd Howell, will not be promoted to the full-time role.
NFL player reps from all 32 teams, plus a few special guests, will join a call Friday to discuss next steps, but no timetable has been set for naming an interim executive director, per an NFLPA source. Several league sources have shared that there is a strong push from players for Don Davis to be the new executive director.
Howell, the union’s executive director, announced his resignation on Thursday night. A source in the league office, granted anonymity because they are not cleared to speak publicly on the matter, says the NFL anticipates that the union will not consider the interim executive director for the full-time job, breaking from a group previously led by Howell and NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter.
Howell resigned after weeks of reporting uncovered controversial actions under his leadership, as revealed by ESPN, Pro Football Talk and “Pablo Torre Finds Out.” The findings included the NFLPA reportedly agreeing to a confidentiality agreement with the NFL to hide information about an arbitration decision, as well as concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving Howell’s consulting work for a private equity group approved by the league for a minority ownership stake.
Meanwhile, federal investigators have been conducting a probe into some sports union officials and OneTeam Partners, a company that licenses athletes’ name, image and likeness rights. Five sports unions hold stakes in OneTeam, including the NFLPA with 44 percent. An official inside the NFLPA raised concerns that union officials could enrich themselves via OneTeam, and last winter, the NFLPA hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation. At the time, Howell was a board member of the company as part of his role in NFLPA leadership.
The NFLPA hired Howell in 2023 following a search process that was criticized for its lack of transparency. Before his work at the NFLPA, Howell spent 34 years at Booz Allen, including a stint as the chief financial officer. Like his predecessor at the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, Howell does not have a background in sports. His bachelor’s degree is in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and he holds a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard.
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