The San Francisco 49ers owner was arrested in a prostitution sting and now faces an NFL review, with Leeds and Rangers declining to comment
Jed York, Principal Owner of the San Francisco 49ers and co-owner of Leeds United and Rangers, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanour charges in Ohio on Monday and was sentenced to jail after being arrested in a prostitution sting.
York, 46, admitted disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools. A judge at Columbiana County Municipal Court gave him one day in jail on each charge, to run concurrently, and credited him with a day already served.
York was fined $1,150 (£873) in total, split between $150 for disorderly conduct and $1,000 for possessing criminal tools. He was ordered to complete an online course, which he finished. Pleading no contest allows a defendant to be convicted without conceding they committed the offence.
The sting on San Francisco 49ers’ owner York
Police arrested York on Sunday morning at a mobile home community in East Palestine, Ohio, close to Youngstown, where he was born and raised.
Officers had posted an online advertisement as part of an undercover operation run with a regional human trafficking task force.
Prosecutors said York responded to the advert using his phone, which formed the basis of the criminal tools charge. He was first charged with engaging in prostitution before prosecutors amended the count to disorderly conduct under the plea agreement.
Court records show $160 taken from York was passed to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force as part of the deal, and that his phone was returned. Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino said most cases of this type end in plea agreements, with each judged on its own facts, the available evidence and the defendant’s history.
Ohio task forces have arrested other sports figures in comparable stings in recent years, among them a Major League Baseball umpire and an Olympic wrestling champion.
Ownership across three clubs
York became the 49ers’ chief executive in 2008 and acquired enough of his mother Denise DeBartolo York’s shares to take over as the franchise’s principal owner in 2024. His interests in Leeds and Rangers run through 49ers Enterprises, the NFL club’s investment arm.
49ers Enterprises bought a 15% share of Leeds in 2018 and took full control of the West Yorkshire club in 2023 for a reported £170m. The group has committed heavy investment since, funding successive promotion pushes and work at Elland Road. Leeds returned to the Premier League in 2025 after winning the Championship.
The group then led a US consortium that acquired a 51% controlling stake in Rangers in May 2025, after months of negotiations. The consortium committed £20m to the club on completion, with health insurance executive Andrew Cavenagh installed as chairman.
York holds no role in the daily running of Rangers. He attended the Old Firm match between Celtic and Rangers in Glasgow in May 2026. The Rangers deal followed a wider pattern of NFL-linked investment in British football.
Rangers’ commercial operation includes a long-running betting partnership, one of the club’s most visible income streams. Scottish clubs face proposals that could restrict gambling sponsorship, a live concern for sides that rely on betting revenue more than their English counterparts.
NFL league review
The NFL said it would examine the case. “We are aware of the matter which will be reviewed under the personal conduct policy,” a league spokesperson said. The policy covers owners, coaches and players, and holds club ownership to a higher standard than most employees.
The 49ers said: “As this is a legal matter, which has been resolved, we will not be providing any further comment at this time.”
Leeds and Rangers both declined to comment.
