It has become a ritual for the NFL Players Association in recent years. During the NFL scouting combine in February, the union releases the results of its annual player survey, which evaluates, grades and ranks teams on issues such as their facilities and working environments and treatment of players and their families.
It has become a ritual for the NFL Players Association in recent years. During the NFL scouting combine in February, the union releases the results of its annual player survey, which evaluates, grades and ranks teams on issues such as their facilities and working environments and treatment of players and their families.
The NFLPA’s team-by-team report cards often generate headlines and prompt reactions. They amount to a call to action for some teams and their owners — a call that has produced improvements in a variety of cases, in the NFLPA’s view. But others say the report cards represent an unnecessary public shaming and that the process should be conducted privately.
The NFL also contends the survey and report cards violate the collective bargaining agreement. According to documents obtained Thursday by The Washington Post, the NFL filed a non-injury grievance seeking to halt the NFLPA from conducting its survey and releasing its team report cards as it has done in previous years.
“The NFLPA’s conduct contravenes the CBA,” Lawrence P. Ferazani Jr., an attorney for the NFL’s Management Council, wrote to Tom DePaso, the NFLPA’s general counsel, “including but not limited to, the NFLPA’s obligation … to ‘use reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by … players which express criticism of any club, its coach, or its operation and policy, or which tend to cast discredit upon a Club … or any other person involved in the operation of a Club …’
“The Team Report Cards very clearly and intentionally ‘express criticism’ of Clubs, coaches, and Club operations/policy. … In addition, the NFLPA further violated the CBA by adding commentary disparaging individual Club owners, coaches and other personnel, including members of the Clubs’ medical staffs.”
The NFLPA informed players of the grievance in a memo.
“As we prepare to roll out this season’s survey, we wanted to inform you that the league has filed a grievance against us in an effort to stop us from releasing the annual report cards — but rest assured, we are moving ahead with this year’s survey and you’ll be asked to take it in the coming weeks,” the NFLPA wrote to players. “We have responded to the grievance with our intention to fight against this action and continue what’s clearly become an effective tool for comparing workplace standards across the league and equipping you to make informed career decisions.”
The grievance, filed in August, was first reported Thursday by ESPN. In it, the NFL says it “also seeks an Order from the Arbitrator compelling the NFLPA to take any and all measures necessary to honor its obligation to retain a third-party expert in collaboration with the [league] to conduct a scientifically-valid survey of all NFL Players as required by” the CBA.
Beyond the matter of how the CBA-related issues will be resolved via the arbitration process, each side may have a point on the broader topic of teams and owners responding to players’ feedback about working conditions and how that should occur, several people in and around the league said Thursday.
Those people acknowledged that the NFLPA’s report cards have gotten results in prompting teams with low grades to act. A graphic attached to the memo the NFLPA sent to players said that teams’ average overall scores across the league “have increased each year since the report cards’ inception.”
The graphic cited seven teams — the Washington Commanders, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons — that upgraded their locker rooms. It cited the Cleveland Browns’ weight room grade going from a D grade in 2024 to an A in 2025 following renovations and the introduction of a new performance center. It cited the Cincinnati Bengals’ locker room ranking going from 24th in 2024 to third in 2025 after facility renovations. It cited 12 teams improving their travel scores two or more grades because of adjusted seating charts and nine teams improving their family scores two or more grades because of added services.
“Thanks to your strong participation, we’re encouraged that it seems many teams are listening, resulting in better facilities, upgraded locker rooms, enhanced family spaces, improved travel accommodations and other positive changes to your overall working conditions,” the NFLPA wrote to players, noting it has conducted the surveys for the last three seasons.
At the annual league meeting in the spring of 2024, Commanders owner Josh Harris cited the franchise’s low grades in previous surveys. Harris purchased the team from Daniel Snyder in 2023.
“Yeah, I’m not an F-minus guy,” Harris said. “I didn’t know you could get an F-minus.”
But some question the need for the publicity that accompanies the NFLPA’s grades. An executive with one NFL franchise said Thursday: “It does feel like it’s done in a way to embarrass certain teams and certain owners into taking action.”
The team executive and others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the pending grievance. On the players’ side, a veteran agent said teams should focus on evaluating the validity of what the players are saying in the survey, while adding that the process does not necessarily have to occur in public view.
“You should question: ‘How do they gather the data? Is the data accurate? Or is it just one or two malcontents?’ ” the agent said. “Then, you don’t have to publicly shame people. That hurts the [league]. It does. It can be done in private.”
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