Plumbing and daycare drama among takeaways
According to former defensive lineman and three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, NFL players take two assignments more seriously than other tasks they are asked to participate in: the selection of team captains and the NFL Players Association’s team and facility report cards.
The NFLPA released its grades from players for the 2023 season Wednesday and, although there were no mentions of rats in this report as there was in last year’s inaugural version, players made their feelings over a range of 11 categories known.
“I would say things have improved and we’re glad that they are,” retired offensive lineman and NFLPA president J.C. Tretter said.
Some of the key takeaways:
Top five teams
1 Miami Dolphins 2 Minnesota Vikings 3 Green Bay Packers 4 Philadelphia Eagles 5 Jacksonville Jaguars
Bottom five teams
⬤ 28. Pittsburgh Steelers
⬤ 29. New England Patriots
⬤ 30. Los Angeles Chargers
⬤ 31. Kansas City Chiefs
⬤ 32. Washington Commanders
Charg-ering for daycare
The Los Angeles Chargers were one of six teams to receive a F or worse – the survey allows for F-minus – for treatment of families. The Chargers charge $75 for the first child in an off-site daycare facility and $50 for each additional child. They aren’t the only team to do so. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers charge players’ families $90 per child. Most teams offer the service for free.
The Cincinnati Bengals, Patriots, Steelers and Commanders all received F- for their treatment of families, which focused on services available to players and their families on game days.
Commanders still have work to do
For the second straight year, the Commanders finished in last place overall. Their locker room and training room also received F-minus grades, while the training staff and team travel were marked with an F. “When asked what the number one issue respondents want to prioritize for fixing, most players couldn’t come up with just one,” the report said. “Instead, the common answer was the entire facility.”
Plumbing issues
Bengals players reported that half the showers in the locker room do not work properly and lack either hot water or sufficient water pressure. They also said there are five functioning toilets for the entire team. In Tampa, Buccaneers players described the locker room as “unclean” and “smelly.” They also cited seeing bugs consistently in the showers. Commanders players reported multiple sewage leaks in their facility, and the team’s home stadium lacked hot water after at least one game there in 2023.
Travel troubles
Two other aside from Washington received failing grades for the way they travel: the Bucs and Tennessee Titans.
Tennessee makes players sit in back of plane where they don’t fit, while staff sits in first class. They are one of seven teams that require players to have roommates the night before games. Tampa Bay gives younger players the option to not have roommates on work travel – if they pay the team more than $1,750 for their own room each season.
Any improvements after ’23?
The Bengals were chastised in the previous report for not providing players with three meals on Wednesdays – typically the busiest day of the NFL workweek during the regular season. That changed in 2023, but they are still one of two teams that does not supply three square meals a day for players and received an F nonetheless.
Arizona started providing daycare and a small family room and stopped the practice of charging players for dinner. The Cardinals climbed to 27th overall after finishing last year’s survey 31st.
Cowboys fall
Dallas fell from fifth in 2022 to 12th in 2023. Players continued to give high marks to the locker room, weight room and head coach Mike McCarthy. But the problem for Dallas is in the training room. In total, 62% of players said they felt they received adequate one-on-one attention from the training staff, which ranked 30th in the league.
Jaguars are biggest climbers
The survey made it obvious Jaguars players appreciate the upgraded workplace, as the organization opened a new training facility before last season. Without rats running around – a unanimous complaint in the previous year’s report – Jacksonville jumped from 28th in 2022 to fifth in 2023.