INDIANAPOLIS — For prospective NFL free agents in search of the best working conditions, the Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins and Las Vegas Raiders may rank among the most desirable destinations. But players may want to steer clear of the Arizona Cardinals, L.A. Chargers and Washington Commanders.
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That determination was made following a league-wide player survey conducted by the NFL Players Association in hopes of better learning how teams treat players and their families. After compiling the results of the study, the players union is now handing out report cards to the NFL’s 32 franchises.
NFLPA president J.C. Tretter and the union unveiled the results of the survey, which gathered information from players regarding eight specific categories: Treatment of families, nutrition, weight room conditions, strength coaches, training rooms, training staffs, locker rooms and team travel.
The Vikings, Dolphins and Raiders consistently ranked among the top three in those eight categories while the Commanders (dead last), Cardinals (second worst) and Chargers (third worst) fell well short. Washington’s players also gave owner Daniel Snyder low votes of confidence when asked if they believed he would improve conditions following the release of the survey.
“Player health and safety is our top priority, and we continue to invest in our facilities, including a new practice field, new turf in the practice bubble and increased meeting room space,” the Commanders said in a statement regarding the survey. “We know there is more to do, and we regularly talk with our players about ways to improve their work environment and the experience for their families.”
According to the NFLPA, 1,300 out of the NFL’s 2,200 players took part in the confidential survey. Tretter, who retired last year after eight NFL seasons, explained that the survey was conducted anonymously because he didn’t want players to receive punishment from teams for their honest assessments. He also explained that the union’s goal for the survey is two-fold: 1. Encourage poorly-graded teams to improve the working conditions and basic services offered to players and their families, and 2. educate players on the state of teams as they prepare to make decisions in free agency.
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“There were a lot of positives and a lot of examples of teams doing great things for players,” Tretter said during a small meeting with national reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday. “That puts in stark contrast the results of the teams that are not.”
Tretter added that the driving force behind the survey was to provide players answers to the question “What are the decisions your team is making when (the) quality of life is involved?”
In some cases, the survey found that teams go to great lengths to provide players with great support while also offering their family members quality settings during game days. Others, however, fell short in the area of basic needs, which include failing to fix drainage issues in team showers, neglecting to offer players dinner despite holding mandatory evening meetings (three teams do not), failing to offer family rooms for nursing mothers on game days, which has left some players’ life partners to feed their babies while sitting on the floor in public restrooms at the stadiums. Some teams offered the wives of coaches nursing rooms, but not their players.
Some teams made first-class seats available to players during flights, while six offered first-class seats to coaches, but not players. Seven teams force teammates to share hotel rooms on the road while the other 25 give players individual rooms.
The Cincinnati Bengals are the only team in the league that doesn’t offer health supplements to their players.
The quality of working conditions doesn’t always translate into on-field success, the survey revealed. The Kansas City Chiefs ranked 29th overall in the grading while a team that traditionally owns a losing record, the Carolina Panthers, ranked 12th overall.
The survey also showed that long work days, marked by extensive and demanding practices and meetings, don’t make for top on-field results either. The teams that had the most time-efficient work days frequently produced the best results in the win column.
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Tretter said that in some cases, the poor working conditions can be attributed to ignorance on the part of some owners, who rarely spend time in their team facilities, while other teams’ poor setups stem from owners willfully withholding amenities to save money.
However, the former offensive lineman said he hopes that the results of the survey will encourage teams to improve in their problem areas.
“We’re not expecting teams to knock down facilities and rebuild them in three months,” Tretter said. “But you can change the way you treat players.”
Tretter predicted that the results of next year’s survey (the NFLPA aims to make this an annual tradition) will prove telling in terms of ownership’s desire to offer players quality working conditions.
“I think there will be some (teams) that read about it, take it personally or (think) ‘I didn’t know about this. This isn’t fair, this isn’t right,’” Tretter said. “But there are some really basic things where things shouldn’t have been going on.”
Tretter stressed, however, that above all, he hopes the survey helps players make better decisions when choosing the best work environments to select in free agency.
The NFL later issued a statement in response to the survey:
“We welcome the player feedback and look forward to reviewing the data from the NFLPA’s poll. On Monday, during joint NFL and NFLPA meetings in Indianapolis, we discussed the process by which we would conduct the next comprehensive player survey to continue to work together to improve players’ experiences at NFL clubs. The NFL and NFLPA have a history of jointly commissioning an expert third party to conduct a scientifically rigorous survey of all NFL players on a variety of topics important to the player experience, as outlined in our Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
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(Photo: Stephen Lew / USA Today)