Pablo Torre Finds Out Exclusive: The NFL Players' Union, the Silenced Top Cop and the Cabal of "Strip-Club Dreams"
Mar 16, 2026
Craig Jones, longtime lead security officer at the NFLPA who protected staff for nearly two decades, speaks bluntly about internal misconduct and his firing. He recounts a secretive headquarters culture. He warns about reinstating former leaders and describes silencing of staff, buried rulings, questionable hires and a fraught leadership selection process.
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Arbiter Found League Encouraged Reduced Guarantees
- The buried collusion ruling revealed the NFL encouraged teams to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the 2022 owners' meeting.
- The ruling included private texts, emails, and testimony from owners and Roger Goodell showing coordinated management pressure on guarantees.
Executive Director Conflicts Undermined Trust
- Lloyd Howell's background included a role with a private equity firm on the NFL's approved buyer list and prior controversies at Booz Allen, creating clear conflicts for an executive director.
- Howell expressed openness to an 18-game season publicly and kept distance from security and staff, signalling alignment with management interests.
Leadership's Deliberate Opacity Was Visible
- The Howell-Tretter team operated with deliberate opacity and internal distance, meeting together but keeping others out of their circle.
- Craig Jones describes observing their separate arrival patterns and private clustering on the executive floor via security cameras.