NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Wednesday that the league is looking into whether San Francisco 49ers owner and chief executive officer Jed York has violated its personal conduct policy, after his arrest as part of an Ohio prostitution sting.
“It’s being reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” Goodell said at the owners’ meetings in Atlanta. “We’ll do that, and when there’s something to be reported, we’ll talk.”
York was arrested on Sunday by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force after responding to an online prostitution ad that actually was set up by local officers.
The 45-year-old executive originally faced misdemeanor charges of engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools (in this case, the phone he used to set up the encounter). On Monday, however, the prostitution charge was changed to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. York pleaded no contest on both counts.
He was sentenced to one day in jail for both charges, to be served concurrently, and was credited with having served one day when he pleaded no contest. York also was fined $1,150, and the $160 he had intended to pay a prostitute was given to the task force as part of his plea.
York still could face discipline from the NFL. The personal conduct policy states that “everyone who is a part of the league” must refrain from behavior detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL.
The policy also states that “ownership and club or league management have traditionally been held to a higher standard and will be subject to more significant discipline” if a violation has taken place.
In 2019, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was arrested in Florida for allegedly paying for sex with a woman at a massage parlor. The charge was eventually dropped after a court ruled that video and audio from secretly installed cameras at the massage parlor could not be used as evidence. The NFL investigated the matter but did not discipline Kraft.
York, who has been the 49ers’ CEO since 2008, became the principal owner in 2024. His family has owned the team since 1977.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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