Super Bowl Champion Chiefs Get F for Ownership in NFLPA Grades
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has released its 2024 NFL Player Team Report Cards. Some notable teams finished with failing grades in several areas, but the most significant news is the inclusion of a new “Owner” category on the report card.
Owners were graded by players on their “willingness to invest in the facilities” on a scale of one to 10. Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl-winning owner Clark Hunt received a rating of 4.9, which was the lowest in the league; next-lowest was Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II (5.8).
More from Sportico.com
On the high end of the spectrum, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was the top-graded owner in the league, while the Minnesota Vikings’ Zygi Wilf placed second. Those were also the two best franchises in terms of overall rating across all categories, with the Dolphins getting an A+, A or A- rating in every one of the 11 items.
The NFLPA started this project with its first annual report cards in 2023 and surveyed 1,706 players between August 2023 and November 2023 for its 2024 report. The league’s response rate improved from around 60% to more than 77%. Numerical ratings for each sub-category were averaged, and grades were determined based on teams’ scores.
“Our goals were to highlight positive clubs, identify areas that could use improvement, and highlight best practices and standards,” wrote the PA on its website.
Although the NFLPA didn’t officially add the ownership grades to the report cards until 2024, it did poll players about their owners’ willingness to invest in facilities as part of the 2023 study. Josh Harris purchased the Washington Commanders between the administration of those two surveys. Harris received a B from his players in the “Owner” category, good for 18th in the NFL and a definitive improvement over former owner Dan Snyder’s 31st rank the prior year.
The Commanders’ ranking across all categories combined, however, did not change from 2023, remaining last. Washington received an F- score in “Treatment of Families,” “Locker Room” and “Training Room” and an F in “Team Travel” and “Training Staff.”
The other notable addition to the report card was a “Head Coach” grade. The Commanders’ Ron Rivera was given a C, placing him 31st in the league ahead of only the Las Vegas Raiders, who fired Josh McDaniels mid-season. Rivera was fired after the Commanders’ 4-13 year.
Overall, though, coaching appears to be an area of strength across the league’s 32 organizations. Nineteen teams got a grade of A+, A or A- in the “Head Coach” department and 14 posted high marks in “Strength Coaches.” The areas in which the fewest teams passed with flying colors were “Team Travel” and “Training Room.”
The inclusion of the “Owner” category is a move by the PA to directly and publicly call out the people with whom they collectively bargain. “No problem can be fixed until it is identified and acknowledged as a problem,” NFLPA president JC Tretter wrote in a note on the website.
It seems Hunt was prepared with his response to the NFLPA’s grades, or else a remarkable coincidence occurred. Just two minutes before the NFLPA posted an announcement of its report cards on X, the Chiefs’ account began a press conference in which Hunt spoke to the media about renovation concepts for Arrowhead Stadium.
Best of Sportico.com
