Things are heating up in the NFL! The head of the NFLPA players’ union, Lloyd Howell Jr., has resigned unexpectedly. Now new allegations are emerging.

Surprise in the NFL: Lloyd Howell Jr. has announced his resignation as executive director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).

The 59-year-old, who had held the position since June 2023, cited “distractions from his leadership” as the reason for his immediate resignation, according to the New York Post. The NFLPA, the union representing NFL players, represents the interests of nearly 2,000 active professionals in areas such as salary, working conditions, and player rights.

“It is clear that my leadership is disrupting the important work of the NFLPA,” Howell said in a statement. “I am stepping down to refocus the attention on the players.”

Howell emphasized his belief in the NFLPA’s mission to protect the health, safety, and financial future of the players. His predecessor, DeMaurice Smith, led the NFLPA from 2009 to 2023.

NFLPA boss: Serious allegations against Howell

Howell had recently come under heavy criticism. Reports of a possible conflict of interest caused unrest: In addition to his NFLPA role, he worked as a paid consultant for the Carlyle Group, an NFL-approved private equity firm that is allowed to acquire minority stakes in NFL teams.

It also emerged that the NFLPA and the league had entered into a confidentiality agreement to conceal details of arbitration proceedings concerning possible collusion by NFL team owners on player salaries.

Now, however, completely new allegations have emerged that are said to be directly linked to Howell’s resignation. According to these allegations, an outside investigator received documents this week showing that Howell visited two strip clubs and planned to pass the costs on to the union.

Among other things, this allegedly includes a car service costing just under $740 to take Howell from the airport to one of the clubs. According to ESPN, the documents are expense reports and receipts approved by the union.

A receipt obtained by ESPN shows that Howell was picked up by a limousine at Fort Lauderdale International Airport at 10:26 p.m. on Thursday, November 2, 2023.

Financial employee had Howell’s bill checked

The first stop was at a nearby address in Miami Gardens, where the driver was instructed to wait for seven hours. The 76,000-square-foot venue advertises itself as the world’s largest strip club – “fully nude and rated No. 1.” Almost eight hours later, at 6 a.m., the car dropped Howell off at his luxury apartment in Sunny Isles Beach.

Later, a young finance employee of the union noticed the exorbitant cost of the car service. The employee forwarded the receipt to the union’s travel department for further review, ESPN reports. The head of the union’s travel department then forwarded the documents to the compliance department for review by union lawyers, according to the sources.

A year later, Howell allegedly visited a strip club in Atlanta with two employees. The total cost of the visit is said to have amounted to almost $2,500.

The NFLPA plans to hold a board meeting shortly to discuss next steps, including the appointment of an interim executive director. The controversies surrounding Howell, including an ongoing FBI investigation into the NFLPA’s financial dealings with licensing company OneTeam Partners, raise questions about the future leadership of the union.