New NFLPA Head’s Former Firm Pays $377 Million Settlement to U.S.

Consulting firm Booz Allen, the previous employer of newly appointed NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell, has agreed to pay the U.S. government $377.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit accused of falsely billing the government.

Howell, who the NFLPA picked in June as its successor to DeMaurice Smith, was chief financial officer at Booz Allen until he retired from the firm in December 2022. Howell worked at Booz Allen for 34 years, from 1988 to 2022, which puts him at the firm during the company’s alleged financial wrongdoing.

From 2011 to 2021, Booz Allen improperly charged costs to its government contracts and subcontracts that instead should have been billed to its commercial and international contracts, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

 “This settlement, which is one of the largest procurement fraud settlements in history, demonstrates that the United States will pursue even the largest companies and the most complex matters where taxpayer funds are alleged to have been pilfered,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves said in a statement.  

Booz Allen has military defense and consulting contracts with U.S. and international governments. The McLean, Virginia-based company has a history with the NFL, dating back to 1966 when then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle asked Booz Allen to assist with completing the NFL-AFL merger. 

Howell’s new role as executive director of the NFLPA comes as the league approached $20 billion in revenue this past season. The union’s current collective bargaining agreement with the league is signed through 2030.