Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris vowed to improve players’ lives when he bought the team less than two years ago. Now, it’s clear that Harris’ impact is being felt in the locker room.
The team improved from last place in 2023 and 2024 to 11th in the NFLPA’s 2025 report card survey released on Wednesday—the third-largest jump for any team across the league.
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This increase represents a culture shift led by the Harris ownership group, which acquired the team for a record $6 billion from embattled owner Dan Snyder in July 2023. The Commanders scored an ‘A’ across multiple categories, including ownership, head coach, team travel and strength coaches. The team also posted Bs in categories such as training staff, food/dining areas and treatment of families. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, who led the team to their first NFC championship game since 1992, received the highest grade of all coaches.
“I’m not an F-minus guy,” Harris told reporters last year in response to the 2024 report card. “I didn’t even know you could get an F-minus. Obviously, we’ve jumped all over that. First of all, that report was based on interviews that occurred right around the ownership change.”
While the Commanders continue to map out where their new stadium will be located, Harris and his group have made investments to better the player experience at existing team facilities. This includes improving travel support to and from, upgrades to the hot tubs at the team facility and a new luxury tent at FedEx Field, where players’ families can meet privately on game day.
The third annual report card survey, which saw participation from 1,695 players, was released before the NFL scouting combine, which starts on Thursday in Indianapolis, Ind. It comes as soon-to-be free agents will weigh their options and consider various factors on what teams to sign with next.
The Miami Dolphins were the survey’s top-ranked team this year followed by the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers. Like the Commanders, the Falcons and Chargers also saw considerable leaps from last year. The worst grades went to the Pittsburgh Steelers (28th), New York Jets (29th), Cleveland Browns (30th), New England Patriots (31st) and Arizona Cardinals (32nd).
In the ownership category, the top five were Miami’s Stephen Ross, Minnesota’s Zygi Wilf, Atlanta’s Arthur Blank, Denver’s Greg Penner and Chargers’ Dean Spanos.
The bottom five: New England Patriots Robert Kraft, Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Art Rooney, Arizona Cardinals’ Michael Bidwill and New York Jets’ Woody Johnson.
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