The lead-up to the 2025 NFL season has been an eventful one for the NFL Players Association.
On Thursday, Aug. 14, the league's union placed one of its top lawyers on paid administrative leave, per an ESPN report. Heather McPhee, longtime general counsel for the NFLPA, has been the subject of multiple complaints that led to the decision. This comes months after McPhee made allegations that led to a federal investigation into the finances of OneTeam Partners, a licensing, marketing, media, and investment company founded by the NFLPA and MLBPA.
The NFLPA's decision regarding McPhee comes less than a month after former executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. abruptly stepped down from his role and exactly two weeks after the union announced that David White would be executive director in the interim.
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Here is more on McPhee and the legal matters involving the NFLPA.
MORE: Meet David White, the interim executive director of the NFLPA
Who is Heather McPhee?
McPhee is the associate general counsel for the NFLPA, a title she has held since 2009.
She attended Princeton University for an undergraduate degree, Harvard University as a graduate student, and received her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
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Why Heather McPhee is on administrative leave
McPhee has been placed on paid administrative leave after complaints to the NFLPA's HR department, according to an ESPN report.
The complaints allege that McPhee failed to follow supervisors' directions, bullied colleagues, and disrupted the NFLPA's work environment. Reports indicate that Matt Curtin, the head of NFL Players Inc., and an unnamed member of the OneTeam board, are among the individuals who filed complaints.
MORE: Why Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned from NFLPA position following investigation
NFLPA investigation details
This development surrounding McPhee comes months after her allegations helped lead to a federal investigation into the NFLPA and the MLB Players Association about OneTeam Partners. OneTeam is a $2 billion licensing company founded by the NFLPA and MLBPA.
The NFLPA owns roughly 44.5 percent of the company, while the MLBPA owns around 22 percent.
In June, The Athletic published a report about an equity controversy with both players' associations and OneTeam. The controversy stemmed from the OneTeam board of directors signing a resolution that included the member unions in a plan to receive "profits units" that could be turned into cash if the company did well.
The report adds that "an official at the National Football League Players Association had repeatedly raised concerns that implementing the plan could mean that labor officials serving on OneTeam's board of directors — including the head of the NFL players union, Lloyd Howell Jr., and the leader of the Major League Baseball players union, Tony Clark — were attempting to make a change that could lead to their own financial gain, potentially at the expense of union members."
In short, a concerned NFLPA official raised issues with the fact that executive directors could receive unfair financial gain through the proposed plan. In the time since, Howell has stepped down and the plan was never put in place.
OneTeam offered a statement to The Athletic saying the plan was ultimately abandoned after being considered.