Former NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell Jr., who resigned Thursday, made a trip to legendary Atlanta strip club Magic City, according to expense reports obtained by ESPN.
Howell and two union employees visited the strip club in downtown Atlanta during this year’s NFLPA summit on Feb. 21. The outing incurred $2,426 in charges including cash withdrawals — ranging from $200 to $525 — from a club ATM, sources and documents show. They used two “VIP rooms.”
According to the expense report, the purpose of the strip club outing: “Player Engagement Event to support & grow our Union.”
The club is the subject of the docuseries “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” streaming on Starz.
Howell, who replaced DeMaurice F. Smith as the union’s top official, had come under scrutiny recently for entering into a confidentiality agreement with the NFL in January that hid the details of an arbitration decision, which included a finding that league executives urged owners to reduce guaranteed player compensation. The union had filed a grievance after the Browns gave Deshaun Watson a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million deal.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank testified in the hearing. The 61-page ruling was published by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast June 24.
Howell was elected executive director in 2024 and was paid $3.6 million last year.
In his resignation statement Thursday night, Howell, 59, said: “It’s clear that my leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day. For this reason, I have informed the NFLPA Executive Committee that I am stepping down as Executive Director of the NFLPA and Chairman of the Board of NFL Players effective immediately. I hope this will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its player members ahead of the upcoming season.”
As recently as Sunday, the union was in support of Howell.
The NFLPA’s executive committee backed Howell in a message sent to membership, saying it had “established a deliberate process to carefully assess the issues that have been raised and will not engage in a rush to judgment.”
The Falcons’ player representative for the NFLPA is All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom. The co-alternates are safety Jessie Bates III and punter Bradley Pinion.
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