The NFL Players Association now acts as a shield for team owners, not a sword for players. According to an investigation on Behind the Bastards, the union's decay culminated with the election of Lloyd Howell as executive director. Howell was previously the CFO of Booz Allen Hamilton and an executive at private equity giant Carlyle Group - a background in managing capital that seeks to extract value from labor.
The union’s shift from adversary to partner began with the 2011 lockout. Star veterans like Tom Brady and Drew Brees agreed to a strict rookie wage scale in exchange for less practice time, believing savings would flow to veteran contracts. Instead, owners filled rosters with cheap rookies. The middle class of $5-10 million veterans vanished, replaced by a pool of disposable labor.
"The salary cap is now split between a handful of ultra-wealthy quarterbacks and a massive pool of disposable players on minimum contracts."
- Charles McDonald, Behind the Bastards
This corporate capture reached its peak when evidence of owner collusion emerged. After the Cleveland Browns gave Deshaun Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million deal, other owners reportedly conspired to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. When league MVP Lamar Jackson sought a similar contract, he found no takers.
An arbitration judge reportedly found “clear and convincing” signs of this collusion. Instead of using the ruling to reset the market, NFLPA leadership allegedly buried the report. By suppressing evidence, the union protects the league’s antitrust exemption and prevents true free agency, making it complicit in controlling player costs.
The NFLPA has transformed from a strike-ready labor group into a bureaucratic arm of management. The players traded a 60-40 revenue split for a system where owners take a credit off the top, leaving players with roughly 47%. They gave up a 17th game for a 1% revenue bump. Now, their own leadership is accused of hiding the proof that owners cheat.
