Heather McPhee, a long-time in-house counsel for the NFL Players Association, has filed a lawsuit against the union and three specific individuals — former NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell, NFLPA general counsel Tom DePaso, and NFL Players, Inc. president Matt Curtin.
The 52-page civil complaint, a copy of which PFT has obtained, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It contains four counts: obstruction of justice; sex discrimination; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and breach of contract.
Beyond setting force the allegations surrounding her placement on leave in August 2025, McPhee’s lawsuit focuses on two situations that unfolded over the past year within the NFLPA. First, it details McPhee’s concerns about the One Team Partners’ Senior Executive Incentive Plan, which was aimed at compensating One Team Partners board members who were affiliated with the NFLPA. Second, it addresses the NFLPA’s decision to conceal the partial victory in the collusion grievance relating to the NFL’s failure to give guaranteed contracts to players, in the aftermath of the five-year, fully-guaranteed Deshaun Watson contract.
McPhee’s lawsuit describes the findings of the January 2025 collusion grievance “powerful,” and she says she assumed that the NFLPA would appeal the outcome. She contends she was “surprised” to learn that the NFLPA had not appealed the decision, that she was “equally shocked” to learn that the NFLPA had agreed to “keep the powerful 61-page decision hidden from all NFL players,” and that she was “stunned” to learn “that not even the three quarterbacks who went through the arbitration proceeding received a copy of the decision.” (The quarterbacks were Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Russell Wilson.)
McPhee alleges that DePaso accused her of leaking the decision to the media, and that DePaso criticized her for “being emotional” when she asked about the timing of the belated appeal, which happened after the decision was reported by the media. (The appeal is pending, and a decision is expected sooner than later.)
“Players were harmed by the NFLPA hiding the arbitration decision for half a year,” McPhee alleges. “For example, players who were free agents in March 2025 could have leveraged the decision in negotiations for more favorable terms. The NFLPA denied them that opportunity.”
The lawsuit eventually claims that the NFLPA exploited the appointment of an interim executive director (following Howell’s abrupt resignation amid a stream of unflattering reports) to retaliate against her by placing her on administrative leave in August 2025 for reasons pretextual to retaliation against her.
Like all civil cases, the defendants will have an opportunity to respond, either by filing a motion to dismiss the case or to answer the allegations, paragraph by paragraph. (The complaint contains 250 of them.) Unless the case is dismissed, discovery will proceed. Months will pass. Eventually, there will be a judgment or a settlement.
Along the way, there likely will be interesting revelations that will shed more light on why the NFLPA inexplicably decided to conceal the collusion ruling from players. Whatever the excuse given, that never should have happened.
