Provided by: NFLPA
Today's guest columnist is Lloyd W. Howell Jr., executive director of the NFL Players Association.
When the NFLPA Player Representative Board selected me in late June, it may have come as a surprise to everyone in the NFL, but it wasn't a surprise to me or to the player leadership. I presented a new approach for the future of the NFL Players Association to take advantage of rapid changes in the business.
For example, we're in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl, and legalized gambling has arrived in earnest in the sports world, but there are other dynamics in the business as well, and players and our unions are taking into account need to do it. Players are entering the NFL with a deeper understanding of their worth and are starting to talk about things like fairness. While NFL games continued to dominate broadcast viewership last year, it's anyone's guess how media rights will change over the next three to five years.
We identified these challenges in our exploration process and, if these changes are meaningful and appropriate, we will discuss how our unions and members will work well in advance of the expiration of our current collective bargaining agreements. We started talking about how we can prepare for and take advantage of those challenges. For the benefit of our players. The reality is that change management is part of every business, and opportunities are missed if unions remain static in a dynamic environment. All contracts and agreements need to serve as guideposts for how we operate, not as excuses for inertia or missed opportunities.
I'm not advocating scrapping collective agreements, but it's been almost four years since they were signed, and any smart business partner would be wise to look for improvements. Who knows? Players and owners were essentially forced to renegotiate the 2020 CBA due to the pandemic. Thankfully we don't have that as a factor, but the principles of improvement, growth and adaptation need to be part of our ethos.
The only way to get answers is to ask questions. I've been asking a lot of questions during my first few months in office. Certainly, all businesses and organizations need to adapt and evolve, but without a deep understanding of the business, and in the case of our union, its members, it is difficult to make fundamental changes or new initiatives quickly. Leaders who make announcements will create a movement without progress.
I promised the player leadership team that progress would be made quickly, but only after we made good on our promise to reach out and listen to as many key stakeholders as possible. We're not static and we've certainly worked with the NFL on the things our members care about. For example, we secured full and permanent disability benefits for hundreds of former players and adjusted penalties for gambling. But we've been working hard. It is about sharpening our focus to identify what is truly possible for our future.
To understand this, I needed to know the players. Between Labor Day and Thanksgiving, I met with nearly all of his NFL players, and common themes and themes quickly emerged. Yes, the expected workplace issues were raised: health and safety, field surfaces, penalties and fines, drug testing, etc., but the players were also asking a lot of questions starting with “how” and “why.” I did. How can we improve our economic system? Why is there no capital structure for the most important and valuable employee group: the players? When decisions are made about changing the rules of the game, employees is not coming to the table in a meaningful way? Why do NFL clubs resist common-sense changes like moving from synthetic surfaces to consistent, high-quality turf?
As a “newbie” I had a certain amount of freedom, and I asked a lot of questions to the players and everyone involved during the listening tour. I met with former players and business partners and started conversations with agents and the NFL and NFL owners. How can our union better inform our programs and services? What do you expect from your next CBA? What are the pain points we need to address in your workplace? what?
I also met with several NFL owners and asked them similar motivational questions. At the end of the day, despite the fact that there can and should be natural friction between labor and management, what everyone wants is to not only make money for everyone, but also to It's a good business partnership that makes the game better for the fans.
Tackling this new and unexpected challenge is about making a difference, and I was drawn to the union's mission. Our players have a clear understanding of the problems they want to address and the ever-changing landscape of our business. It is also our responsibility as a union to change and evolve so that we can continue to fulfill our mission of protecting our interests and achieving gains yet to be achieved, for players past, present and future. is responsible.
Lloyd Howell was elected as the fourth executive director of the NFL Players Association in June 2023. Prior to this, Mr. Howell spent more than 34 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., where he served in various leadership roles, most recently as the company's finance director. Officers and Treasurer. He serves on the boards of Moody's Corporation and General Electric Healthcare, and is a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
