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Former Cleveland Browns center and NFLPA President JC Tretter announced that the NFL Players Association have elected Lloyd Howell as their new executive director. Lloyd Howell will be replacing DeMaurice Smith after the season. Lloyd Howell is a seasoned businessman whose last role was Chief Financial Officer of Booz Allen, a large consulting firm in Virginia before taking over with the NFLPA.
He has also served on the board of various companies. Former Browns center JC Tretter was in charge of the search and was assisted by other former Browns players Alex Mack and Jason McCourty.
Lloyd Howell will become the fourth executive director in the NFLPA’s history. Lloyd Howell’s skills as a businessperson signal that the Players Association could pivot from their reliance on legal strategies to combat potentially unfair NFL policies. DeMaurice Smith, a former lawyer, has overseen the last two collective bargaining agreements.
The handling of the 2020 collective bargaining negotiations was very contentious between two camps of players. Soon after, Smith was narrowly elected to his fifth term. The NFLPA would begin a 16-month search for Smith’s replacement shortly thereafter. Lloyd Howell inherits the agreement for the next seven seasons. In that time he will try to build consensus among the two camps.
In a statement, Howell said, “The opportunity to represent the players is a privilege. I look forward to building relationships and the solidarity amongst our players. The history and strength of this institution is impressive, and I look forward to driving our bold goals and achieving them together in the future,”
Roger Goodell released a statement to congratulate the new executive director, “I want to congratulate Lloyd Howell on his election as Executive Director of the NFL Players Association and to thank DeMaurice Smith for his continued partnership and unstinting work on behalf of NFL players. We look forward to working with Lloyd and his team to continue growing the game and making it better, safer, and more accessible and attractive to fans around the world.”
While Howell and Goodell have yet to work together, watching how their partnership will shape the sport will be interesting.
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