NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed this week that the league is reviewing whether to discipline San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York under its personal conduct policy, following York's arrest in Ohio on suspicion of soliciting prostitution.
"It's being reviewed under the personal conduct policy," Goodell said Wednesday at the owners' meetings in Atlanta. "We'll do that and when there's something to be reported we'll talk."
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According to reports, York was arrested in a mobile home park by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force after police said he was attempting to pay $160 for sex with a woman he believed to be a prostitute. York was booked into jail and released after posting a $5,000 bond. He was initially charged with engaging in prostitution, though prosecutors later amended the charge to disorderly conduct. On August 24, York pleaded no contest to that charge along with a related charge of possessing criminal tools, tied to his use of his phone to respond to what he believed was an undercover prostitution advertisement, and paid $1,150 in fines.
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The NFL confirmed to USA Today Sports that the matter is under formal review. The league's personal conduct policy, which applies to owners as well as coaches and team or league employees, prohibits conduct that undermines the integrity of or public confidence in the NFL, and applies whether or not a person is convicted through the traditional court process.
York, 46, has served as the 49ers' CEO since 2010 and became the team's principal owner in 2024. This is not the first time ownership trouble has touched the franchise — in 2000, York's uncle, former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., transferred control of the team to York's mother, Denise DeBartolo York, following a corruption scandal.
Owners have faced league discipline before. Former Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was suspended six games and fined $500,000 in 2014 following a guilty plea to driving while impaired. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, by contrast, was investigated but never formally punished after a 2019 arrest on solicitation charges in Florida, after the charges against him were later dropped when a court ruled police had violated the rights of the accused by installing hidden cameras inside the massage parlor in question.
If Goodell does move forward with discipline against York, reports suggest a suspension paired with a significant fine is plausible, based on precedent set in prior personal conduct cases involving team owners. The league has not indicated a timeline for when a decision might be announced.
This story involves an ongoing personal and legal matter; further developments will be reported as they become available.