NFLPA report card winners, losers: While there is leaguewide improvement, particularly in childcare, Woody Johnson’s ‘culture of fear’ tanks Jets' results - chof 360 news

INDIANAPOLIS — When the Washington Commanders ranked as the lowest-graded workplace in the league last year, new team owner Josh Harris responded bluntly: “I’m not an F-minus guy.”

After a season to implement changes in the wake of Daniel Snyder’s forced sale, Harris proved it as the league’s consecutive-year 32nd team jumped to 11th place in the NFLPA’s annual “report card” survey.

First-year head coach Dan Quinn ranked as the league’s most-liked coach as he took a 4-13 Commanders team to 12-5 and an NFC title game appearance in his debut year. The Commanders also improved their food services, travel and family accommodations as they rose from a report card with three F-minuses and two F’s to just one F (locker room) and a composite grade equivalent to a B, the union said.

In contrast, the New York Jets fell from the 21st-ranked team to the 29th as players reported concerns that team owner Woody Johnson was not willing to invest in improvements (Johnson ranked last), did not contribute to a positive culture (last) and did not commit to building a competitive team (second-last).

Jets players cited a worsening food program, the training staff’s lack of attention to their needs and a belief “that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse."

“They talked about the culture — it’s a problem, top down,” NFLPA chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter said of the Jets’ response. “[They said,] ‘It’s a culture of fear here.’ And I think that stood out in those grades.”

Johnson initially reacted emotionally to requests for change, union executive director Lloyd Howell said.

“Like, ‘Hey, I made these changes, somehow they weren’t appreciated, so what the hell, I’ll just roll them back,’” Howell said. “I think after the discussion though, cooler heads prevailed and we started to reinstate some of the changes.”

Across other league clubs, improvement showed.

NFLPA surveys' arguable biggest win: childcare for families

Facility upgrades helped some major risers, including the Atlanta Falcons who jumped from the 25th-highest graded team to the third.

But in the third year of its report-card survey process, the players union saw generally improved conditions from the program’s start. That includes treatment of families.

Eleven teams didn’t provide daycare during home games when the union started its program, a number down to seven last year. By 2024, only three teams were still without a daycare offering.

“This is not solely a knock down walls and buildings issue,” Tretter said. “There are softer issues when it comes to treatment of families, when it comes to travel, when it comes to staffing, that make major differences for players.

“There are multiple ways of solving your issues.”

The Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers are the three clubs not to offer daycare still. Of the 29 teams who do provide daycare, 27 provide it free of charge while the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams charge. The 49ers charged $40 per child per game while the Rams charged $75 per first child and $50 per additional child for each game.

Ten teams do not offer a family room during home games, including the Bengals — the only team that offers neither daycare nor a family room.

“The Bengals players feel like there is little to no effort put forth when it comes to the organization’s efforts to support their families,” the club’s report card said, even as it cited major locker room improvements. “One player describes the treatment of families as ‘almost disrespectful.’”

The Bengals are also one of two teams not to provide three meals a day throughout the work week, though they added Wednesday dinners and off-day breakfasts after including neither in 2023. The New Orleans Saints do not offer three meals every day, though perhaps that could change with a new cafeteria that opened in December after the survey’s completion.

The Kansas City Chiefs improved in several areas as they began offering daycare and a family room, also hiring away the New York Jets’ dietitian to improve Kansas City’s food program.

But the Chiefs’ top room for improvement is with the team hotel for home games, the only such facility to receive mention on report cards.

Which teams graded best, worst in union survey?

In the third year of their report-card survey process, the players union polled 1,695 total respondents, which averages to 52.97 respondents per team and 77 percent of union membership across active and practice-squad rosters. At least 35 players from each team responded to the poll conducted during team visits spanning the period from Aug. 26 to Nov. 20, with a high of 68 respondents from the New York Giants.

The union hopes to condense the timeline of next year's surveys to within a month in order to eliminate season results-related noise in the data. Results thus far do not consistently correlate with competitive advantage, though the union added team owner grade categories this year to include an owner’s commitment to building a competitive team and contribution to positive team culture in addition to the returning category of an owner’s willingness to invest in facilities.

The Miami Dolphins defended their title as the league’s best workplace for a second straight year, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, the Atlanta Falcons, the Las Vegas Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers. The Falcons jumped significantly from 25th to third overall, aided by factors including major facility upgrades, a new strength staff and first-year head coach Raheem Morris ranking as the second-most liked head coach behind Dan Quinn.

The Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers received similar grades as they rounded out the top eight.

The Arizona Cardinals received the lowest grades for their workplace, followed by the second-worst New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.

That correlated closely with team owners who graded lowest on perceived willingness to invest: the Patriots’ Robert Kraft ranked 28th, the Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper 29th, the Steelers’ Art Rooney 30th, the Cardinals’ Michael Bidwill 31st and Johnson 32nd.

Johnson received the lowest grade on contributing to positive team culture, trailed closely by Tepper, Kraft, the Cleveland Browns’ Jimmy Haslam and Bidwill.

Overall, teams improved across the board. Players awarded their teams 41% more grades of at least A-minus than a year prior (up from 81 to 114), while D-pluses dropped 51% from 65 areas to 32. Only four areas on any teams received F-minuses.

The Bengals received an F-minus for their treatment of families; the Bills received an F-minus for team travel they complain is neither comfortable nor efficient; and locker rooms were awarded F-minuses from Cardinals and Bengals players.

But those were the exception rather than the rule. Tretter joked they may soon need to retire the F-minus, “an almost extinct category.”

“What initially seemed a shame campaign is really, ‘How do we improve working conditions for our guys?’” Howell said. “It doesn’t mean you have to build a new building, but we’re saying, ‘Be responsible.’ And I'm seeing they are.”