Amongst these classes, Washington’s locker room and coaching room ranked final. Solely 26 p.c of Commanders gamers who voted stated they felt they’d sufficient room for his or her lockers, and a few cited a number of sewage leaks. Washington ranked thirty first in therapy of households, coaching employees, staff journey and head coach.
The low grades for the Commanders’ amenities aren’t shocking; former proprietor Daniel Snyder invested minimally, leading to a dilapidated stadium in Landover and an outdated coaching facility in Ashburn. Snyder bought the staff to a gaggle led by Josh Harris in July.
The possession change appeared to depart an impression on the gamers; Harris ranked 18th amongst homeowners, incomes a B grade for his willingness to put money into the staff’s amenities. The primary NFLPA survey, taken throughout the 2022 season and printed final February, didn’t embrace a class for possession.
After the sale, Harris and his possession group had lower than per week to make incremental enchancment earlier than coaching camp. The staff already had begun to put in bleachers to accommodate an inflow of followers and a separate space for gamers’ households. The possession group has since commissioned $75 million in upgrades to the staff’s follow facility and stadium; that features structural enhancements, alterations to parking and visitors circulation on the stadium and updates to premium seating areas, together with a brand new sound system, a brand new video board and new suites.
“This isn’t a shaming train,” NFLPA Government Director Lloyd Howell stated. “I do know that a few of the homeowners have most likely interpreted it that means. Nobody likes to get a nasty grade. Myself included. However that is actually, as I see it, a chance to acknowledge . . . these groups, these environments which can be doing properly, which can be doing all the proper issues.”
Commanders gamers gave the best marks to the energy and conditioning employees, which acquired an A grade and ranked fifth within the NFL. The energy employees tied for first within the 2023 report card.
Some returning gamers famous the enhancements from 2022, with new household occasions and a extra personal postgame space. However in addition they famous the Commanders have been nonetheless amongst a minority of groups that didn’t provide household rooms throughout video games or at coaching amenities.
Commanders gamers additionally said they felt there weren’t sufficient athletic trainers and bodily therapists, and a few stated the gear within the coaching room was “lower than the usual of knowledgeable sports activities staff,” in line with the report card.
Late within the 2023 season, the Commanders introduced in a advisor, Tim McGrath, to help the staff in evaluating its athletic coaching, energy and conditioning and vitamin. His work is ongoing and is predicted to lead to extra modifications to the athletic coaching employees and participant wellness operations.
Of the Washington gamers who voted, 76 p.c stated they felt former coach Ron Rivera was environment friendly with their time. Rivera, who was fired in January, acquired a C grade.
This yr, the NFLPA’s survey dug deeper into groups’ dietary choices and created separate classes for meals and nutritionists. Washington acquired a D+ (twenty seventh within the NFL) for its cafeteria and a B- (twenty first) for its nutritionist.
“We’ve listened to a variety of the gamers, we’ve met with a variety of the gamers, making an attempt to grasp the place we are able to enhance within the constructing, and I feel now we have a variety of actually good individuals within the constructing,” Commanders Normal Supervisor Adam Peters stated Tuesday on the NFL mix. “It’s simply making an attempt to make the participant expertise higher pretty much as good as we are able to. And that’s not simple, however we’re going to make each effort to, so we’re nonetheless within the early phases of that.”
The Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings claimed the highest two spots. The Inexperienced Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars rounded out the highest 5. The underside 5: the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and Commanders.
“The league and its golf equipment at all times encourage and solicit participant suggestions to assist enhance all sides of their NFL expertise,” the NFL stated in an announcement. “We look ahead to getting the chance to overview the union’s questionnaire, and the information supporting it, after its launch to the media.”
The surveys have been performed anonymously on-line from Aug. 27 to Nov. 16. Commanders gamers voted Oct. 10, throughout the staff’s assembly with NFLPA representatives.
The Jaguars had the largest enchancment yr over yr, leaping from twenty eighth within the 2023 survey to fifth, largely as a result of they opened a brand new coaching facility. Notably, the Dallas Cowboys dropped seven spots, going from fifth within the 2023 survey to twelfth. The first impetus for the change, in line with the NFLPA, was that gamers felt the athletic coaching room was understaffed and unequipped to supply crucial particular person therapy.
“There may be room for enchancment and to get issues higher by each staff,” NFLPA President JC Tretter stated. “And I feel many of the groups selected to behave on the outcomes and make issues higher.”
The NFLPA burdened that the grades don’t essentially correlate to a staff’s file.
For the Chiefs, there was a notable distinction — the staff received its second consecutive Tremendous Bowl this season however ranked thirty first within the NFLPA survey, and its chairman and CEO, Clark Hunt, acquired the bottom rating amongst homeowners due to the staff’s perceived unwillingness to put money into gamers and amenities. Chiefs gamers lauded Coach Andy Reid and famous the staff had addressed one criticism from the 2023 survey, offering chairs with backs at their lockers as an alternative of stools. However gamers reported the staff didn’t fulfill its promise to renovate the locker room after Kansas Metropolis’s Tremendous Bowl LVII victory.
Requested if the Chiefs’ rating may gas a notion that groups don’t want to speculate extra in gamers and amenities to achieve success, Tretter stated, “I feel there’s just one Patrick Mahomes on the market, so I don’t assume it actually may be replicated.”
