INDIANAPOLIS — After receiving poor grades for the 2023 campaign, the Los Angeles Chargers, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders made the most significant leaps in improving working conditions for their players in 2024, according to the NFL Players Association.
NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter unveiled the report cards for the 2024 season on Wednesday, and the results reflected overall improvements across the league. This year, 1,695 NFL players (roughly 77 percent of NFLPA membership) took part in the survey, which was conducted from Aug. 26 to Nov. 20, 2024.
Overall, Tretter said the NFL’s 32 teams improved grades by an average of 3.5 points. The retired center said there was a 41 percent increase in As received from players. Teams received As in 81 categories in 2023 and 114 during the 2024 season. Meanwhile, while teams received 65 grades of D-plus or lower for various categories in 2023, the number dropped to 32 (a 51 percent reduction) in 2024. There were only four F-minus grades handed out.
“The floor is rising, which is important to highlight,” Tretter said, commending the NFL’s owners for taking note of the player assessments and making an effort to communicate with the union on needed improvements.
Three years ago, the NFLPA began conducting surveys that led to team-by-team report cards on the state of working conditions across the league. The goal was to hold NFL owners and their franchises accountable for how they accommodate and support players in a wide range of areas like facilities, cafeterias, family treatment on game days and travel arrangements.
In 2024, the Chargers jumped from 30th in the NFL to fifth. The Falcons improved from 25th to third, and the Commanders jumped from 32nd to 11th. For a second straight year, the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings ranked first and second. This year, the Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Chargers rounded out the top five. (Last season, the Dolphins, Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars received the highest overall grades from players.)
Meanwhile, the teams receiving the five worst grades were the Pittsburgh Steelers (28th), New York Jets (29th), Cleveland Browns (30th), New England Patriots (31st) and Arizona Cardinals (32nd).
Commanders owner Josh Harris was not content with the failing grade his team received in 2023. (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
Tretter praised Commanders’ second-year owner Josh Harris, who in response to last season’s woeful grade said, “I’m not an F-minus guy,” and then worked aggressively to upgrade Washington’s facilities and player accommodations.
“This really shows the point of this project,” Tretter said. “If you’ve been to the Commanders’ facility, it’s still the same facility. He didn’t knock down walls, but he made changes in staffing, changes in what players were asking for. … He changed the culture.
“He hired Dan Quinn, who was the No. 1 ranked head coach (according to this year’s grades). He improved food services, added a family daycare facility. There was a huge jump in family services, and their travel accommodations dramatically improved. Those were major changes, and none of those are $50 million investments. Those are small investments. Huge change. Kudos to Josh Harris and Dan Quinn.”
The Falcons made a major jump, but also opened a new team facility, weight room and cafeteria while hiring a new head coach in Raheem Morris, who received the second-highest ranking of the year, and a new strength and conditioning staff. The Falcons’ strength staff received an F-minus in 2023 and an A for the 2024 season. The Kansas City Chiefs hired a full-time dietitian and went up from an F in their cafeteria rankings to an A-minus.
The Dolphins received an A in treatment of families and an A-plus in food and dining area as well as nutritionist/dietician and locker room. The Dolphins also received an A in training room, training staff, A-plus in weight room and A-plus on strength coaches and team travel.
In comparison, the Cardinals received a D-plus in treatment of families, D-minus for food/dining area, a B for nutritionist/dietician, an F-minus for locker room, a D-minus for training room, a C for training staff, an F in weight room, C-plus for strength coaches and B for team travel.
Washington’s Quinn received the highest grade for head coaches at an A-plus; Atlanta’s Morris, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell, Kansas City’s Andy Reid and Miami’s Mike McDaniel rounded out the top five.
Chicago’s coaching staff, which included Matt Eberflus, who was eventually fired in-season, received a C as the lowest grade. Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson, who was eventually fired, Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski, New Orleans’ coaching staff, which saw Dennis Allen fired in-season, and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh received the other four lowest coaching grades in that order.
This year, the NFLPA expanded the categories on which players grade owners. The three categories were an owner’s perceived willingness to invest in facilities, an owner’s contributions to positive team culture and an owner’s commitment to building a competitive team.
Miami’s Stephen Ross, Minnesota’s Zygi Wilf, Atlanta’s Arthur Blank, Denver’s Greg Penner and the Chargers’ Dean Spanos received the five highest grades in the first category.
In the owners’ willingness to invest in facilities, Ross, Blank, Wilf, Harris and Penner rounded out the top five. Meanwhile, Ross, Blank, Wilf, Harris and Penner were top five in commitment to building a competitive team.
The bottom five owners in the first category were New England’s Robert Kraft (28th), Carolina’s David Tepper (29th), Pittsburgh’s Art Rooney II (30th), Arizona’s Michael Bidwill (31st) and New York Jets’ Woody Johnson (32nd).
When it came to an owner’s contributions to a positive team culture, Bidwell, Cleveland’s Jimmy Haslam, Kraft, Tepper and Johnson were bottom five. And in perceived commitment to a competitive team, Cincinnati’s Mike Brown, Haslam, Kraft, Johnson and Tepper were the bottom five.
(Top photo of Woody Johnson: Ed Mulholland / Getty Images)
