NFL hands down Jed York decision that mirrors past owner punishment

The NFL closed its review of San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York on Friday. The decision came 39 days after a league spokesperson said his arrest in Ohio would be reviewed under the Personal Conduct Policy.

Police arrested York on Aug. 23 at a mobile home park in East Palestine, Ohio, during a sting by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. Police said he responded to an undercover online prostitution advertisement and attempted to pay $160 for sex. Prosecutors amended an initial charge of engaging in prostitution. The next day, York pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools, a plea that neither admits guilt nor contests the allegations.

He received a one-day jail sentence with credit for time served. He also paid $1,150 in fines and forfeited the $160 seized in the sting.

On Friday, the league suspended York for six regular-season games and fined him $500,000.

Those terms match exactly what the NFL gave Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay in 2014, after Irsay pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor impaired-driving charge. Irsay's $500,000 fine was the maximum permitted under league rules at the time. His suspension barred him from the team facility, practices, games and league meetings, and from media interviews and social media about team or league matters.

How York's penalty compares with the policy's standard for owners

The policy itself sets a higher bar for people in York's position. It states that "ownership and club or league management have traditionally been held to a higher standard and will be subject to more significant discipline when violations of the Policy occur."

Twelve years after Irsay, the league met that standard by repeating his penalty to the game and to the dollar.

Commissioner Roger Goodell had kept his public comments brief while the review played out.

"It's being reviewed under the personal conduct policy," Goodell said on Aug. 26 at the owners' meetings in Atlanta. "We'll do that and when there's something to be reported we'll talk."

York's family has been through this before. His uncle, former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., was suspended for the 1999 season and fined $1 million after pleading guilty to failing to report a felony tied to a Louisiana riverboat gambling license. Control of the team passed to his sister, Denise DeBartolo York, who is Jed York's mother.

The younger York had already kept his distance from the 49ers this season. He traveled to Australia for the Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne but did not attend it. He also stayed away from the Sept. 20 home opener against the Miami Dolphins.