Eric Williams
NFL Reporter
INDIANAPOLIS – For the third year in a row, the NFL Players Association released team report cards for all 32 NFL franchises. And for a second straight season, the Miami Dolphins ranked as the top team overall, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, who were the top-ranked team in the initial survey in 2023. The Falcons, Raiders and Chargers round out the top five.
On the other end of the scale, the Arizona Cardinals finished dead last in this year’s ranking, receiving an F grade for their weight room and an F- for their locker room.
According to NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter, a survey-high 1,695 players were polled, which is about 77% of all those in the league. The surveys were taken from Aug. 26 to Nov. 20 of last season. Tretter said an average of 52 players responded from each team, with a high of 68 from the New York Giants and a low of 35 from the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints.
The survey asks for input on 11 different categories: treatment of families, food/dining area, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and owner.
The Dolphins, Vikings and Falcons all got an A+ for ownership. The Jets got an F. For head coaching, the Dolphins, Chiefs, Commanders, Falcons, Lions and Vikings got an A+.
Aside from the headlines, the major goal of the yearly survey is to spur improvement in the overall working conditions for players, and according to NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell, it’s working.
“The second year of the survey, my first year, it was probably a more emotional reaction for those teams at the bottom of the list,” Howell said. “But over time, those conversations turned to, ‘All right, what can I do to improve my grade? Do I have to build a new facility, or is it more soft, people-related things that I have to do?'”
This year’s average grade was a B, up from a B-minus last year. Among the bottom five teams — the Steelers, Jets, Browns, Patriots and Cardinals — the average grade was a C, up from a D+ a year ago. According to Tretter, that shows that the player survey has helped to raise the workplace standards around the league.
He said the plan is to continue the annual player survey for the foreseeable future.
“It will continue because we’re seeing the lives of our players improve,” Tretter said. “And that’s one of the jobs of the union, to improve the everyday lives of our members.”
You can check out the full results here.
https://nflpa.com/report-cards/2025
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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