The NFLPA has released its club report cards, and there is, like last year, a lot to dig through. The grades came in from 1,706 players, representing 77% of the NFL’s on-field workforce.
A few early notes from the data ranking player working conditions …
• The Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings ranked at No. 1 and 2 for the second straight year. (The Vikings were first last year, and the Dolphins came in first this year.) By the numbers, NFLPA president JC Tretter said the Dolphins and Vikings were “in a league of their own.”
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• A clear second tier was there, too, from the Green Bay Packers in third place to the Houston Texans in seventh. In between those two, in order, were the Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers.
• The bottom five, from 28th to 32nd, were the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders.
• For the first time, players graded their head coaches and owners. Chiefs coach Andy Reid ranked first in the former category, with former Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels coming in 32nd. Miami’s Stephen Ross was first among owners, and Kansas City’s Clark Hunt was 32nd.
• The Dallas Cowboys had the biggest drop in grade, due mainly to the lack of resources in the training room—which was a common problem across the league.
• The effects of last year’s results were felt. The Arizona Cardinals came under heavy criticism for their working conditions after the 2022 season. They have since replaced the floors in their weight room and stopped charging for after-hours meals.
• The Cincinnati Bengals started offering three meals a day, but only on Wednesdays.
• Nonetheless, weight room conditions continued to be an issue. Players from six teams graded their weight rooms as equal to what was available to them outside the team facility. For one team, the Patriots, the team weight room graded as worse than what was available to players elsewhere.
• Family treatment was improved within some teams, but not with others. It was noted that the Chargers bill players $75 for one child in game-day daycare, and $50 for each additional child.
