BroBible
The NFLPA has spent the past few years polling players while compiling report cards evaluating every franchise in the league on facilities, ownership, and more. It’s become a pretty anticipated tradition due to the candid nature of the feedback that’s published, and that has led to the NFL attempting to bring the practice to an end.
Earning a spot on an NFL roster makes you a member of a pretty exclusive club, and it allows you to form relationships with the players who comprise a network that makes it pretty easy to get an idea of what guys with other teams are dealing with behind the scenes.
There are plenty of reporters and insiders who are able to provide fans with a glimpse behind the curtain, and in 2023, the NFLPA went out of its way to do the same when it released report cards grading all 32 NFL franchises for the first time.
Those report cards are primarily designed to allow players to be aware of some red (and green) flags they might be dealing with if they end up with a certain team (1,695 NFLPA members responded to its survey before the third annual iteration was published that year), but they also feature some eye-opening revelations most fans aren’t aware of.
However, it would appear the NFL is less than thrilled with the tea that’s been spilled.
The report cards in question give each franchise an overall grade based on 11 different categories that largely focus on the quality of team facilities, accommodations, coaching, and ownership. The NFLPA also highlights anonymous testimony to support the results, which has been the source of some interesting insight.
For example, we’ve learned players in the Commanders locker room have had to deal with ‘“multiple sewage leaks,” guys on the Chiefs have to deal with “dirty and sticky” floors in the hotel they stay in the night before home games, and the Patriots don’t have access to WiFi on the team plane.
The report cards have also been an impetus for change. The Buccaneers stopped charging players for childcare during games after catching heat for making them fork over $90, while the Bengals started serving more food after getting exposed for being one of just two teams (along with the Saints) that don’t offer players three meals per day.
According to ESPN, the NFL is not a fan of that dirty laundry being aired, as the outlet reports the league has filed a grievance in an attempt to get the union to stop publishing the report cards.
Its management council sent a letter to the NFLPA that asserts the assessments violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement that bars public criticism of its teams, citing the clause that requires “reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by club personnel or players which express criticism of any club, its coach,...
