Federal Criminal Investigation Opened On NFLPA Misuse Of Funds & Self-Enrichment

ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler, citing a confidential document, report that federal investigators are looking into the NFL Players Association regarding a potential misuse of funds and self-enrichment by union officials. 

ESPN reports that multiple sources who have seen the confidential document say the NFLPA is “now on notice of financial actions that may be criminal” and there are “immediate threats requiring prompt actions.”

According to ESPN, the document was delivered to the NFLPA days after executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and director of strategy J.C. Tretter resigned from their jobs earlier this month. The document implicates Howell, citing potential action by the National Labor Relations Board over “unfair labor practices” and a “lapse of fiduciary duty oversight practices during Howell’s tenure.”

ESPN also points out that the memo does not specify which individuals may be under criminal investigation.

Pressure was mounting for Howell’s resignation after reports surfaced that the NFLPA hid the partial win in the collusion grievance and that he was “working as a paid, part-time consultant for The Carlyle Group, one of a select group of league-approved private equity firms now seeking minority ownership in NFL franchises.”

When it comes to the accusations, Tretter continues to deny any guilt and told Jones that he is resigning not because of the accusations, but because the situation has simply gone too far. After being advised not to speak on the matter, Tretter decided he could no longer hold back.

“So, the day the news broke, I sent an angry text to De calling him a ‘f—ing loser.’ I did that,” Tretter stated. “That was before the idea of collusion had even come up; months later is when we launched the collusion grievance where we got word — or De got word — there could be some collusion going on. And that’s why I said in my deposition: If he was colluded against, I would not have said that. I would’ve apologized because I didn’t know he was working against other factors. Sorry. My expectation was I didn’t just naturally think the NFL was breaking the CBA.”

“I’m not resigning because what I’ve been accused of is true. … I’m not resigning in disgrace. I’m resigning because this has gone too far for me and my family, and I’ve sucked it up for six weeks. And I felt like I’ve been kind of left in the wind taking shots for the best of the organization,” Tretter concluded. “I got to the point this morning where I woke up and I realized, like, I am going to keep dying on this f—ing sword forever of, I’ll never, ever be able to do what’s best for me. And I will always pick what’s best for the organization. And in the end, what’s the organization done for me? Like, nothing. I’ve been a bullet shield for six weeks for them where everything that’s been controversial, it just all dumps down on me, and I’ve had nothing to f—ing do with it. And that’s when I was like, I’m done taking bullets for the [organization] on stuff I wasn’t a part of and did not do.”

Howell was also accused of gender discrimination and retaliation during his time working at the time at Booz Allen Hamilton.

The NFLPA recently backed Howell, but it was clear that changes were likely to come at some point in the near future. 

Even the process by which Howell was selected for the job has come under scrutiny for the lack of transparency during the process for both the media, public and even the players’ union itself. 

Howell was the CFO of Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm, before retiring in December. He worked at the company for 34 years before taking over as the executive director at the NFLPA in 2023, succeeding DeMaurice Smith.

Tretter, 34, is a former fourth-round pick of the Packers out of Cornell back in 2013. He played out the final year of his rookie contract before agreeing to a three-year, $16.75 million contract that included $6.5 million guaranteed with the Browns in 2017. 

Tretter then signed a three-year, $32.5 million extension that included more than $23 million guaranteed. He was set to make a base salary of $7.9 million in the final year of the deal when the Browns released him. He then retired in August of 2022.

For his career, Tretter appeared in 111 games and made 90 starts for the Packers and the Browns.