HEADLINES

Javier Loya

Extra Points: Cap, Interviews, Texans, Pash

May 24th, 2024 at 11:09am CST by Sam Robinson

In place since 1994, the salary cap jumped by a greater amount this year than any other in its history. The $30.6MM spike this year — producing a $255.4MM salary ceiling — led to some monster payments for top free agents, and the wide receiver ceiling is likely to reach the $35MM-per-year place once Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb are signed. Teams, however, may be preparing for a less impactful rise in 2025. The cap should not be expected to balloon on the level it did this year, with the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken noting the early expectation is an increase of approximately $10MM. Once the 2011 CBA starting bringing cap growth by 2014, it leveled off at bumps of around $10MM per year as the 2010s wound down. That period will do well to prepare teams, as does the COVID-19-induced cap decline of 2021. But an expectation of a modest increase for 2025 will play into clubs’ big-ticket extension talks as this offseason progresses.

Here is the latest from around the NFL:

  • Assistant coaches on playoff teams will have some additional time to prepare for postseason matchups in 2025. The NFL will introduce a cap on the length of HC interviews with assistants attached to playoff teams, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. These meetings will be capped at three hours. With no limit being in place previously, this will be a significant change as teams and candidates chart their interview schedules come January. Additionally, these interviews must take place in the city of the assistant’s current team or a location approved by the coach’s current team, per Pelissero and SI.com’s Albert Breer. These changes comes a year after the league pushed back the timeline for candidates to conduct in-person interviews, sliding it from after the wild-card round to after the divisional round.
  • NFL general counsel Jeff Pash revealed he will retire from the post he has held since 1997, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes. Pash will remain in his position until a successor is determined. A Paul Tagliabue-era hire, Pash has worked as a central part of Roger Goodell‘s disciplinary efforts since he replaced Tagliabue in 2006. Best known for his efforts in high-profile NFL legal battles, Pash has also played a key role in player safety measures on the field. Lawrence Ferazani Jr., Anastasia Danias Schmidt and Brook Gardiner loom as early replacement candidates, Bloomberg’s Brian Baxter writes. An ex-FBI agent, Ferazani has worked in the league office since 2007. Danias Schmidt currently serves as Major League Soccer’s general counsel, but she worked in the league office previously. Gardiner, MLS Next Pro’s general counsel, did as well. Janet Nova, the NFL’s deputy general counsel for media and business affairs, and fellow league staffer Dolores DiBella loom as other internal options, Baxter adds.
  • Texans minority owner Javier Loya faced a rape charge, along with other sexual abuse charges, stemming from alleged incidents in May 2022. The rape allegation has been dismissed, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, who reports the six charges of sexual abuse were also dropped. Loya agreed to a deal that will close this matter with one misdemeanor charge — harassment with intent to annoy — and a $100 fine in Kentucky, Wilson adds. Four female models Loya allegedly hired to work at two Kentucky-based parties accused him of sexual abuse. Loya has been a Texans minority owner since the franchise’s 2002 inception.

Extra Points: Loya, Goodell, Cook

August 13th, 2023 at 1:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

Texans minority owner Javier Loya has had his tenure with the organization put on hold in the wake of multiple sex crime charges being brought against him. Loya is facing one rape charge, along with five first-degree and one third-degree sexual abuse charge, as detailed by KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson.

The charges stem from incidents in May of 2022 in Kentucky. Loya, who is due to take part in a pretrial conference on August 22, has agreed to withdraw from all Texans activities until his case has been resolved. The NFL also confirmed in a statement that Loya has been removed from all league committees.

“Mr. Loya is innocent and has pled not guilty to all charges,” a statement from attorney Andrew Sarne reads. “He unequivocally and categorically denies these allegations and will vigorously defend his innocence. Mr. Loya has voluntarily taken and 100% passed a polygraph test which confirms his innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court.”

Loya, 53, has been a limited partner with the Texans since their inaugural season in 2002. He faced a civil suit alleging sexual misconduct earlier this year, but it was withdrawn. If Loya is convicted on the rape charge, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Here are some other notes from around the NFL:

  • News of another contract extension for commissioner Roger Goodell first came out in March. That new deal, which will be three years in length and keep him in place through 2027, has been considered a certainty to be finalized throughout the offseason. A firm timeline for ratification has emerged; Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter) that owners are aiming to agree to the extension during the October league meetings in New York. Goodell has been at the helm of the NFL since 2006, and it is expected that the 64-year-old’s next deal will be his last.
  • Dalvin Cook has generated plenty of headlines this offseason with his high-profile free agency, but his legal situation has also seen recent developments. The 28-year-old was cleared to proceed with a defamation counterclaim in court stemming from the ongoing allegation of assault, battery and false imprisonment made by Gracelyn Trimble. In an update on the situation, Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that the latter was offered a $1MM payout by Cook. The offer included the condition that Trimble send a letter to the NFL “absolving Cook of wrongdoing.” Trimble has already testified to the contrary, and court filings detailing the attempt to put the case (which began in November 2021) to rest via a settlement could strengthen her argument. Cook remains unsigned.
  • The NFL has updated its personal conduct policy in a way which gives the league wider authority with respect to issuing punishments in a number of situations. That includes adding sexual assault to the list of offenses which can receive heavy suspensions, as noted by the New York Times’ Jenny Vrentas. The alterations come in the wake of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson receiving what was initially a six-game ban for sexual misconduct alleged by more than two dozen women. The suspension (which was ultimately upped to 11 games) was limited in part by the wording of the league’s previous policy and the precedents set by other violations. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk adds, meanwhile, that the new policy also gives the NFL the power to hand down discipline to players for violations which occurred before they entered the league. Incidents dating back to college, for example, will now fall under the scope of the league when investigations take place.