49ers owner Jed York suspended six games, fined $500,000 for conduct policy violation

The NFL suspended San Francisco 49ers principal owner Jed York for six regular-season games and fined him $500,000 for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy, the league announced Friday morning.

York has stayed away from the 49ers' first three regular-season games and from NFL league meetings while the league's investigation proceeded. Because those three missed games count toward his suspension, the six-game ban leaves three more regular-season contests to serve, and York may return as soon as Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The sanction stems from York's arrest after he allegedly used a prostitution website to arrange a $140 sexual encounter last summer, an episode that placed him under the league's personal-conduct review and led to both the suspension and the fine.

The discipline is a significant off-field development for the 49ers, formally removing their principal owner from team and league functions for the balance of the ban's remaining regular-season games. York had already stepped back from the club during the probe, including the season's opening stretch, before Friday's announcement set the penalty and the return date in writing. San Francisco now plays on into late October knowing exactly when its owner can come back into the fold.