Executive Director
NFL Players Association
DeMaurice F. Smith was voted the executive director of the NFL Players Association by the players’ union. Mr. Smith is a D.C.-based partner at the firm Patton Boggs with no significant previous NFL ties. He is chair of the firm’s Government Investigations and White-Collar Practice Group. Mr. Smith typically represents corporations and individuals in both criminal and administrative matters, most notably those pending before the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Department of Justice, U.S. Congress, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. In his new role, Mr. Smith stated that the union has a moral obligation to take care of retired players, a publicly controversial issue between the union and some alumni. He faces daunting challenges in trying to reunite the players after a contentious search process, and in readying the union for a possible labor confrontation with the owners. Mr. Smith earned his B.A. from Cedarville College in Ohio, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.