One day after Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned as executive director of the NFL Players Association, ESPN reported on Friday that before he stepped down, an outside investigator hired by the union had received documents showing Howell had charged the union for expenses involving two visits to strip clubs.
Howell charged $738.82 for a car service from one visit in Florida in 2023, ESPN reported, citing a receipt it obtained. Howell and two union employees also visited a strip club in Atlanta during the union’s annual summit in February, according to the expense reports obtained by ESPN. That outing involved $2,426 in charges. A union spokesperson declined to comment to ESPN.
Howell’s resignation on Thursday night followed several weeks of bruising reports involving the NFLPA. Those included concerns, first reported by ESPN, about a potential conflict of interest involving Howell and a private-equity firm that does business with the NFL and for which he is a paid, part-time consultant. The “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast and Pro Football Talk also reported last month that the NFLPA agreed to a confidentiality agreement with the NFL to hide information about an arbitration decision.
“It’s clear that my leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day,” Howell wrote in his resignation statement. He added that he hoped his resignation “will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its player members ahead of the upcoming season.”
Howell was elected union president in 2023, following a process criticized for its lack of transparency. Like his predecessor, DeMaurice Smith, Howell had no previous connection to the NFL before becoming head of the players association. He had spent more than three decades working at Booz Allen Hamilton, the D.C.-based defense contractor and consulting firm, in roles that included chief financial officer.
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