The NFLPA has elected an interim replacement for Lloyd Howell.
The union announced late Sunday night that it had elected David White to serve as the interim executive director. White follows Howell, who resigned last month amid a scandal that rocked the union.
“I am grateful to the NFLPA’s player leadership for entrusting me with the privilege and responsibility to guide their union as interim executive director,” White said in a statement. “It’s a duty I do not take lightly, and I’m committed to re-establishing trust and ensuring the union is serving its members best.
“I look forward to working with the entire NFLPA team to prospect players’ health and safety, secure their financial well-being and further strengthen their voice to shape their futures.”
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White was a finalist for the role in 2023 before losing to Howell at the time. He is the former executive director and chief negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), worked as board chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and is a strategic adviser to a venture capital firm. He is also the CEO of 3CG Ventures, an executive coaching and strategic consulting firm.
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According to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, a voting player representative from all 32 teams participated in the vote to elect White on Sunday night. There were multiple interviews with internal and external candidates within the past few weeks. It’s unclear how long White will stay in the role.
“We have full faith in David to take the union forward and operate in the best interests of our membership,” NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin said in a statement. “David has spent much of his career fighting for collectively bargained rights in the labor movement and is committed to putting players first in all the union does. We are confident that he will inspire solidarity and provide the necessary stability during this period of transition.”
David White takes over after a bad month for the NFLPA
White will take over for the NFLPA after multiple scandals rocked the organization this offseason.
It started after a report from Pablo Torre and Mike Florio last month that detailed how the NFL and NFLPA buried a ruling on a collusion grievance. That reportedly showed that an arbitrator concluded that the league encouraged teams to reduce guaranteed money after Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson received an unprecedented, fully guaranteed contract when joining the franchise. The NFL won the grievance, as it wasn’t proven that teams actually acted on the advice, but there was “little question” that they were encouraged to do so.
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Then, after Howell resigned, it was reported a day later that he had expensed more than $3,000 at strip clubs. He also resigned from his consulting position with the Carlyle Group over an apparent conflict of interest after the investment firm wanted minority NFL ownership.
Former Browns center and union player president J.C. Tretter also resigned as the union’s chief strategy officer in the wake of the scrutiny. He took himself out of the running for the interim executive director position after he was apparently in a two-man race for the position. NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis was the other at the time.
Tretter had played a central role in Howell’s hire, which is widely seen as questionable now looking back. He had a conflict of interest as a Carlyle Group consultant, and players may not have known about a sexual discrimination lawsuit against him at a former employer. There was also another grievance against Tretter that the NFL and NFLPA reportedly didn’t disclose. Tretter even went as far as to compare himself to a “Game of Thrones” character while defending his decisions.
