NFLPA Head Has Side Hustle With PE Firm That Can Invest in NFL Teams

The NFLPA’s embattled executive director, already under fire for his handling of the collusion case over fully guaranteed contacts, is facing fresh controversy because of a part-time consultant role he has with one of the private-equity firms that is approved to invest in NFL teams.

Lloyd Howell Jr. has been working as a part-time, paid consultant for Carlyle Group’s aerospace and defense investment team since March 2023—three months before he was elected into his NFLPA leadership role—according to ESPN. Carlyle is one of the four private-equity firms that were approved to buy passive minority stakes in NFL teams last summer.

Howell is apparently aware that his Carlyle role could raise questions; in September 2024, a senior union lawyer asked him to consider stepping down from the PE firm to “avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest if the term takes an ownership stake in an NFL franchise,” but Howell declined, ESPN reported Thursday.

Carlyle spokesperson Kristen Ashton said in an emailed statement that Howell “had no access to information about the NFL and Carlyle process beyond public news reports due to strict Carlyle information barriers in place,” and that the firm “was not aware of the request from union lawyers for Lloyd to resign from Carlyle.”

News of Howell’s role with Carlyle, and the revelation he declined a union attorney’s request to step down, comes as he has been scrutinized for his role in keeping private an arbitration decision from earlier this year that cleared the league and its owners of collusion allegations. The ruling—unearthed by journalists Pablo Torre and Mike Florio—made clear that the evidence was not sufficient to prove collusion, though some communications between league executives and team owners appear to have toed the line.

Although it’s not unusual for arbitration rulings like the one in this case to be kept from the public, it’s notable that many members of the NFLPA—players—did not know about the specifics of the decision until recently. ESPN reported Wednesday that the NFL and senior leaders of the NFLPA, including Howell, “struck an unusual confidentiality agreement that hid the details” of the ruling.

The collusion case dates back to October 2022—months after Deshaun Watson signed a five-year, fully guaranteed contract with the Browns worth $230 million—when the NFLPA filed a grievance against the league, alleging collusion by team owners to limit fully guaranteed contracts. The grievance originally centered on three quarterbacks—Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Russell Wilson—but was later expanded to seek relief on behalf of 594 players.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed Thursday that the NFLPA intends to appeal the ruling, something that was included in ESPN’s Wednesday report.

Howell faces an additional headache. According to ESPN, the NFLPA last month hired veteran litigation attorney Ronald C. Machen of WilmerHale to assist a special committee of players in reviewing Howell’s “activities as the executive director.” Machen’s hiring came in response to a reported investigation by the FBI and federal prosecutors over the union’s “financial dealings” tied to a licensing firm called OneTeam Partners (that probe has also ensnared the MLBPA).  Machen did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for the NFLPA declined to comment.