The NFLPA released to its player membership body the findings of its annual team report card survey, with the Miami Dolphins receiving the highest overall grade and the Pittsburgh Steelers receiving the lowest.
According to a person who saw the overall rankings of the report cards, the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders rounded out the top three, and the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals ranked 30th and 31st, respectively.
The players’ union has conducted the survey in each of the last four seasons, but earlier this month, the NFL won a grievance wherein an arbitrator ruled that the NFLPA violated the CBA by making the results of the survey public because doing so was deemed to be “disparaging to NFL clubs and individuals.”
That didn’t stop the NFLPA from sharing the results of the survey and the team-by-team grades with its player body, which numbers about 2,000. Union leaders hope that the report card findings will help players make decisions during free agency, which begins the second week of March.
An NFLPA spokesman declined to comment on the report cards.
In response to information from the survey being made public, the NFL sent a memo to teams Thursday questioning the validity of the survey and alleging the union “cherry-picks which responses to include and exclude.” The memo advised teams not to comment on the survey, and “to prioritize feedback and information provided directly by their own players rather than relying on the NFLPA’s agenda-driven exercise. … Doing so only provides credibility to the union’s media campaign.”
The NFL’s memo also said the league would “review the developments in light of the Arbitrator’s decision.”
From the union’s perspective, the survey seeks opinions from players on various elements of their working conditions, including the quality of facilities, cafeterias, travel arrangements, training staffs, arrangements for family members on game days and more.
NFLPA leaders also hoped that the release of the surveys would help hold teams accountable, and those efforts have appeared to be working. Multiple teams began using the feedback to improve areas that players had highlighted as glaring weaknesses. The New England Patriots and Cardinals even started construction on new practice facilities.
But some owners expressed displeasure with the results being public and how they were painted in a negative light. The union agreed to abide by the ruling of the arbitrator, who sided with the owners on the disparaging nature of the public report card releases. But the arbitrator — hired and paid jointly by both the NFL and NFLPA — had no problem with the union conducting the surveys and sharing the results privately with players and teams.
The results — whether positive or negative — don’t necessarily correlate with on-field results, but the union’s mission is to ensure that its players are treated fairly.
The Athletic obtained the team grades for each category, which were used by the union to create the overall rankings. The Dolphins endured a losing season in 2025, and fired head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. But the players view the working conditions in Miami positively. The Dolphins players gave their team a B-plus for the way it treats families (this involves accommodations at the stadium before, during and after games), and an A-minus for the quality of their stadium’s playing surface. Team travel, dining accommodations, training staff and training room all received A grades. The weight room and strength coaches both received an A-plus. The head coach received a B, while the general manager received an A-minus and ownership an A.
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf was once again graded well by his players, receiving an A-plus. Vikings players liked general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who has since been fired, and head coach Kevin O’Connell, giving each an A. The Vikings players gave their weight room an A-minus and their strength coaches an A. The training room and training staff both received A-minuses. The locker room received an A and the team nutritionist a B-plus. Meanwhile, dining accommodations and team travel received grades of B-minus and B-plus, respectively, and the players gave their team an A for the treatment of families and a B for home-field surface.
The Commanders organization, which rounded out the top three, has steadily improved in the eyes of players since Josh Harris purchased the team two years ago. Harris received an A-plus from players, while general manager Adam Peters received an A and head coach Dan Quinn got an A-plus. Washington received an A for the quality of its weight room and the strength coaching staff received an A-plus. The locker room, which has received upgrades in recent years, received a B, and the team nutritionist received an A-minus, just as the food/dining accommodations did. Washington’s players gave the team a B-minus for how travel accommodations are handled. The Commanders players gave out a grade of B-plus for both the treatment of families and the home-field playing surface.
The Steelers received poor grades across the board, including an F in the “treatment of families” category and an F-minus on the quality of their stadium’s playing surface. Pittsburgh also received an F for travel accommodations and an F-minus for the quality of its locker room. The Steelers players gave ownership a D-minus. However, they gave general manager Omar Kahn a C-plus. Head coach Mike Tomlin, who resigned after the season, received an A. The Steelers players gave their strength coaches a B-minus and their weight room a B. The training staff received a B-plus, and the training room a C. Also receiving positive votes were the team’s dietician (B) and the team’s dining arrangements.
The three teams ranked at the bottom of the survey either declined to comment or did not respond to a request from The Athletic to do so.
Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten said, “We are not going to comment on a report that we have not seen in its entirety.”
A spokesperson for the Browns also declined to comment, while the Cardinals did not immediately respond to a message from The Athletic.
Arizona, which finished next to last, received a D-plus for the treatment of families, a B for its home playing surface, a C-plus for team travel and a C-minus for dining accommodations. The locker room received an F-minus and the training room a D-plus. However, the players view the training staff positively, assessing a B-minus. The weight room, meanwhile, received a D-plus, and the strength coaches a B-minus. Jonathan Gannon was fired as head coach after the season, but the players gave him a B-plus during the midseason vote. General manager Monti Ossenfort received a B, but the players gave owner Michael Bidwill an F.
Players for the Browns, which finished third-to-last, viewed the team’s treatment of their families negatively, giving a grade of D-plus in that category. The Browns received a D-minus for team travel and a D-plus for dining accommodations, and an F for the condition of the locker room. The training room received a C and the training staff a C-plus, and the weight room and strength coaches each received grades of B-plus. Former coach Kevin Stefanski, who was fired after the season, received a grade of C-minus, and general manager Andrew Berry a C. Owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam received a C.
This marks the first time that the Steelers, owned by the Rooney family, have finished last in the report card rankings, after placing 28th last season. Arizona finished last on the report card rankings last year, so the Cardinals improved by one place. The Browns have finished 30th in back-to-back years.
The NFLPA received roughly 80 percent participation in this year’s report cards.