This offseason, the second annual NFL Players Association report cards were released, ranking teams on facilities, food provided, family care, head coaches, owners and more. The report cards are meant to serve as a way for players to have their voices heard regarding concerns for their teams and for owners to look at what they need to improve on.
They surveyed 1,706 players, which comes out to nearly 76% of players in the league, an increase from 60% last year. The report cards were glowing for some and eye-opening for others.
Some owners are using the survey to pinpoint where to improve on for next season, while others are dismissing the results.
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II is one owner who does not seem too concerned about where his team fell, despite being ranked 28th out of 32. He undermined the results, saying it is a way for the NFLPA to get media attention.
"It doesn't get presented to us, it gets presented to the media, so as far as I'm concerned it's a media opportunity for the Players Association as opposed to a serious effort of constructive criticism," Rooney said (via The Athletic).
Rooney said he would rather receive feedback from players directly.
The Steelers received an F- in "treatment of families," a B- in "food/cafeteria," a D in "nutritionist/dietician," an F in "locker room," a D+ in "training room," a C in "training staff" and "weight room," a B+ in "strength coaches," a D in "team travel" and an F in "owner" (aka Rooney). The only grade they received higher than a B- on was in head coach, as Mike Tomlin received an A.
The Arizona Cardinals were the only other team to have an F grade for their owner and the Kansas City Chiefs were the lone F- in that category. If it weren't for Tomlin's high grade, the Steelers would have fallen even lower in the overall ranking.
Last season, the Steelers received a D- in "treatment of families," a B+ in "nutrition," a C in "weight room," an A- in "strength staff," a D- in "training room," a B+ in "training staff," a D+ in "locker room," and a B in "travel."
They went down in "treatment of families," "nutrition," "strength staff," "locker room" and "travel." They went up slightly in "training room," though remained in the D range, and stayed the same in "weight room."
The NFLPA explains the aim of the report cards on its website: "One of our core jobs as a union is to improve the overall working conditions for our players, which includes the daily experience of players at the team facilities away from the lights and cameras. ... Our goals were to highlight positive clubs, identify areas that could use improvement, and highlight best practices and standards."
The only teams that fell lower on the overall list were the New England Patriots (No. 29), the Los Angeles Chargers (No. 30), the Chiefs (No. 31) and the Washington Commanders, who came in last.
