NFL Players Association Releases Rankings of Best and Worst Teams to Play for After Surveying Players
The NFL Players Association has released a new ranking of the league’s teams brought about by a survey focusing on player experiences.
The union released this year’s “Player Team Report Cards” on Wednesday.
The report cards grade all 32 league franchises in seven categories.
Some are focused on team culture, such as cafeterias and the treatment of families.
Team weight rooms, locker rooms, nutritionist services, training rooms and training staffs were also graded.
The Player Team Report Cards are back. Last year, the report cards led to players feeling more informed about their workplace & this year several new categories were added including Head Coach, Owner + Dietician/Nutritionist.
Take a look here: https://t.co/RV0ZNDNb2h. pic.twitter.com/vfEv6A7d2s— NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 28, 2024
The Miami Dolphins received the best report card — by far.
The team, which finished 11-6 last season, received a grade of “A-minus” or above in every category, a distinction that the 2023 top-graded Minnesota Vikings couldn’t match.
The Vikings (7-10) slipped to second place in the new survey.
The Super Bowl LVIII champion Kansas City Chiefs came in 31st overall in the survey — second to last.
Curiously enough, the Chiefs eliminated the Dolphins in the AFC wild-card playoff round — perhaps suggesting that in-house culture isn’t the most important factor in game-day success.
However, the 4-13 Washington Commanders earned last-place ignominy, scoring an “F” in four different categories.
Another team that fared poorly is the New England Patriots — a development that could be connected to reports of player discontent with old-school head coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots parted ways with Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the team, after a 4-13 season.
Legendary former quarterback Tom Brady admitted last month that he left the Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 because of Belichick’s leadership style, according to Fox Sports.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made the most progress relative to last year’s survey, the first of its kind.
The 9-8 Jaguars moved from 28th overall to fifth, having overcome a problematic rat infestation in the team’s locker room last year, according to CBS News.
Overall grades on the NFLPA survey:
1. Dolphins
2. Vikings
3. Packers
4. Eagles
5. Jaguars
6. 49ers
7. Texans
8. Giants
9. Raiders
10. Bears
11. Bills
12. Cowboys
13. Lions
14. Seahawks
15. Ravens
16. Broncos
17. Panthers
18. Titans
19. Saints
20.… pic.twitter.com/Cl3F4f7o0n— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 28, 2024
The Dallas Cowboys dropped from fifth in 2023 to 12th, with players pointing to a shortage in training staff as an internal problem.
More than 1,700 NFL players provided information to Artemis Strategy Group, a research firm hired by the union to conduct the survey.
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