San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York has come under fire after he was arrested last weekend in Ohio, and there are several voices around the NFL calling for an example to be set with York for violating the personal conduct policy of the league. 

While there are those questioning how a billionaire can be reprimanded with a simple fine, which to a billionaire would be nothing short of pocket change, there are others who want to see him stripped of ownership rather than a simple slap on the wrist. 

In the meantime, Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, had said at the owners’ meeting in Atlanta earlier this week that the situation is being ‘reviewed’ and an update would be provided once the review was completed. 

Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark is one of those calling for Goodell to take the most stringent action possible. On The Pivot Podcast, Clark was clear that if players can be punished and reprimanded, even owners need to be held accountable. 

“There’s been four owners suspended in the NFL. And I think there needs to be a very close look at what Jed York did,” said Clark. “The NFL consistently says they want to protect the shield. And we know how that applies to players. And there’s always the conversation of the privilege it is in order to play in this league, which, by my estimation, these players have earned through sacrifice, through dedication, through hard work, and they had to be picked in order to do these things.”

For Clark, owners are even more privileged from that same standpoint because, unlike players, owners don’t make sacrifices on the field by putting their body on the line. Rather, for owners, it’s their money that does the talking. 

The ability to be able to own a team, having the money to be able to touch base with other owners and have them vouch for your purchase of a team. To Clark, that is a far greater privilege, because while players put in the hard yards, it’s the owners who get a share of the league’s profits.

“You get an opportunity to share in what this league generates because of your position,” said Clark. “So if you are out, behaving in a way that’s unbecoming of your position, I believe they should be held at higher standards than players, and I agree, when you’re speaking of billionaires, it’s hard to put an amount of money on a way to hurt them.”

The solution, according to Clark, is simple: hit them where it hurts most. 

“Take that team away. Don’t allow them to sit no stands,” added Clark. “Take the money that they’re supposed to earn from their equity within the league and the collective bargaining agreement away. Suspend them; don’t let them have the toy that they have worked so hard to pay for.”

Clark wasn’t holding back, nor was he mincing his words; for him, it’s high time that owners are held accountable for their misdemeanours and every step they take outside the line. 

“I believe there should be a hard look by the league and a precedent set that we will not accept that from the highest of positions in the NFL.”

Not the first owner to cross the line

As Ryan Clark said, four NFL owners have been suspended previously and, interestingly enough, York isn’t even the first 49ers owner to be reviewed by the NFL Commissioner. 

Back in 1998, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., Jed York’s uncle, pleaded guilty after he failed to report an extortion attempt. DeBartolo paid former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards $400,000 to secure a lucrative riverboat gambling license.

The then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue fined DeBartolo $1 million and suspended him for the entire 1999 season. Eventually, the incident led to Eddie DeBartolo Jr. ceding control of the franchise to his sister Denise DeBartolo York, Jed’s mother. 

Another instance of an owner being suspended for violating the personal conduct policy was when late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was fined $50,000 and suspended for six games in 2014. Irsay pleaded guilty to driving impaired after Police found multiple prescription drugs and over $29,000 cash in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.

More recently, it was the Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross who was suspended for around two and a half months and fined $1.5 million after an independent league investigation found Ross and the Dolphins had engaged in unprecedented tampering violations by having impermissible communications with Tom Brady and the agent of coach Sean Payton while both were contracted to other teams. 

Brady was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while Payton had stepped away from coaching but was still contracted to the New Orleans Saints, who would eventually trade Payton’s coaching rights to the Denver Broncos. After being found guilty, the Dolphins were also docked their 2023 first-round and 2024 third-round draft picks. 

Former Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder was placed on a de facto administrative suspension after an independent NFL investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson found a toxic, highly unprofessional workplace culture of bullying, public humiliation, and widespread sexual harassment of female employees. 

Snyder was ordered to step back from all day-to-day team operations, and his wife, Tanya Snyder, took over his executive duties. Eventually, Snyder sold out in 2023 as the investigations continued and uncovered financial fraud and misconduct. 

Snyder and the Washington Commanders have paid the heftiest fine levied by the NFL to date. It will be interesting to see where the precedent stands if the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is to come down as hard on Jed York as the likes of Ryan Clark demand.