As the NFL seeks to end the annual report cards conducted by the NFL Players Association, players around the league told ESPN reporters Thursday and Friday they support the survey and there have been tangible improvements since it began.
"I think it's a great assessment of how players really feel," said Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum, who is a 14-year NFL veteran. "It's objective, especially for the people that are actually in the buildings every single day. No disrespect to the National Football League, but a lot of those folks sit in offices at 345 Park [league headquarters in New York City], and you have folks that are doing these reports that are living, breathing, eating, sleeping, working, the whole nine, that are in these buildings every single day.
"It's a great way to be transparent and a great way to keep everybody accountable."
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, one of 10 NFLPA vice presidents, echoed Beachum's sentiments and added, "I think to stop it, it just kind of feels like you're hiding something."
The NFL filed a grievance against the players association claiming the report cards violate a collective bargaining agreement clause that states NFL owners and the union must "use reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by club personnel or players which express criticism of any club, its coach, or its operation and policy," according to an August letter from the league's management council to the NFLPA, obtained by ESPN. For the latest report card published in February, 1,695 players leaguewide responded to the surveys, which were administered from Aug. 26 to Nov. 20, 2024, and include grades on everything from head coach to team travel to the locker room. According to the NFLPA, answers were collected anonymously.
"The fact that there's pushback shows it's working," one 10-year veteran, who asked for anonymity, told ESPN.
In an email sent to players two weeks ago alerting them to the grievance, the NFLPA wrote it is moving forward with this year's survey despite the league's objections. The union began conducting the surveys two weeks ago.
"We have responded to the grievance with our intention to fight against this action and continue what's clearly become an effective tool for comparing workplace standards across the league and equipping you to make informed career decisions," the NFLPA wrote in its email to its players.
In a graphic included in the email, the NFLPA illustrated some of the grade improvements made by teams since the surveys began.
The Los Angeles Chargers jumped from 30th to fifth after building a new training facility.
The Washington Commanders jumped to 11th from last place in large part because of improvements to travel, food, family and childcare.
"That goes to [team owner] Josh [Harris], honestly, and [general manager] Adam [Peters]," Commanders coach Dan Quinn said of Washington's improved grades at the NFL combine in March. "There's no gap in between what [Harris] says and what he does. And so, to have that type of reflection in a year is really big. We told him how important this was to us. He heard that from the players and then took action on that."
And the Atlanta Falcons jumped from 25th to third after improved marks in their weight room, locker room and dining categories.
"I'm super thankful to have the opportunity to play for Mr. [Arthur] Blank and the Falcons organization because there's been so many improvements in my time here, and he's constantly trying to give us the best opportunity to win in the best facilities around here," Falcons Pro Bowl guard Chris Lindstrom said. "And the changes that he's made are incredible, and I know they have even more coming soon. So, it's like, I don't know, I'm just thankful for the environment that we get to have playing here."
Players who spoke to ESPN say the actions of those teams suggest the report cards are making a positive impact on workplace conditions.
Teams, though, have historically made routine upgrades and renovations outside the confines of report card feedback.
"If anything, it's just creating good dialogue," Heyward said. "It doesn't have to be a leader or a captain, but any player can voice an opinion and tell what they see outside from a different team to this team. You want a championship culture all around, and you want to emulate others, but we're not asking you to break the bank. But if we see something, we want to make sure everybody's aware."
Earlier this year, the Cardinals unveiled a plan to invest roughly $100 million over three years to build a new training facility after receiving low marks on the 2025 report card. The Cardinals finished 32nd overall in the surveys conducted during the 2024 season, receiving an F-minus for the locker room and a D-minus for the training room, as well as a D-plus for treatment of families and a D-minus for the food and dining area. Michael Bidwill received a D-minus and ranked 30th out of 32 team owners.
In a statement provided to ESPN, the Cardinals said the timing of the renovations was not related to the NFLPA report cards.
"Capital projects are planned well in advance and the timing was not related," the team said.
But the Cardinals made an initial announcement about a new training facility at the team's current location on Feb. 26, the same day the NFLPA's most recent report cards were set to be released. In September, the team updated its plans and announced a new training facility at Paradise Ridge in north Phoenix instead of updating the complex at the current location in Tempe, where the team has trained since 1990.
Cardinals players tell ESPN they believe the plans for a new training facility are a direct result of the feedback presented in the report cards.
"Without question," Beachum said. "It's all about transparency and accountability. But I think with anybody, if there are things that you want to see changed and you bring that to your employer, I think it's on your employer to be able to take some of that information to be able to make changes. And our employer has done a phenomenal job taking the information that was said and done something about it. We talked about the weight room. [Bidwill] fixed the weight room. It's not that complicated."
Other teams including the Commanders, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets have updated their locker rooms since the first round of report cards were published in 2023. Some of those renovations were part of the regular rhythm of facility updates. Others, though, happened because of a willingness by ownership to invest in improvements.
Harris, who bought the Commanders in July 2023, received an A and ranked eighth out of 32 teams in the ownership category of the 2025 report card. Though players gave their locker room an F when the survey was conducted during the 2024 season, Harris' average rating for perceived willingness to invest in the facilities was 9.24 out of 10. In July, the Commanders unveiled renovations to the locker room that had been ongoing since the end of the 2024 season.
"Whenever the players give a voice, it's important because they're giving an honest opinion about what should be changed organizationally," Los Angeles Rams safety and NFLPA representative Quentin Lake said Thursday. "And at the end of the day, you want your players, coaches and staff to be in a comfortable environment where they want to come to work."
Ownership sources have told ESPN they value the report cards but feel that, because the union issues only general grades and not specific feedback, they serve as an instrument to mock teams without telling them which areas need improvement.
"It could make you better," a team executive told ESPN, "but they don't share how. They just take snippets to embarrass people without sharing the data."
According to a person who spoke to ESPN on Friday and is familiar with the thought processes of ownership, league owners aren't against receiving player feedback but would like to change the rollout of the report card results and engage in meaningful conversations about issues brought to light.
In its grievance, the NFL says that, according to the CBA, the league and the union already agree to conduct a joint survey of players every three years "regarding the adequacy of player care and other relevant topics." A source with direct knowledge of the league's process said that survey was last conducted in 2015 and that officials from the NFL and union would meet confidentially with teams about specific areas of improvement with tangible results.
The NFL also told the union in a letter from the NFL management council, which handles labor issues for the league, that the company overseeing that survey has said the union's report card exercise "adversely affected the reliability of the CBA-mandated survey."
Players, though, say they appreciate the visibility that comes with publicly publishing the report card grades and believe it creates accountability and also gives players a better picture of league happenings.
"The public pressure is the best part about our survey," said Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joel Bitonio, a 12-year veteran and alternate player representative.
"I think this was one that finally truly showed some change. So, if it does minimize that other survey to us, it's all right."
Bitonio was in his second year in the NFL in 2015 when the league's joint survey was last conducted.
"I feel like it benefits the teams that are doing it right," Cincinnati Bengals player rep and NFLPA vice president Oren Burks said of the report cards. "The ones that aren't, it's kind of revealing. But at the same time, it's the same for us. Take accountability on the field; if you make a bad play, everybody's going to see it. So, we're holding owners to that same standard."
Linebacker Zaven Collins, Arizona's NFLPA player representative who was drafted by the team in 2021, has seen specific areas of improvement as a result of the low report card marks.
"I've seen it big-time," Collins said Thursday. "Especially with the friends and family. We've seen that. We've seen stadium changes. We've seen all kinds of stuff. I understand it takes time. It's not something that can happen overnight."
As one of just three teams that didn't provide childcare during games in the 2024 season, the Bengals received an F-minus for treatment of families in the February report card. This season, though, families of Bengals players can drop their children off prior to the game, receive updates from childcare providers throughout and pick them up either in the fourth quarter or after the game.
"I feel like it's been something that we had to figure out logistically from an ownership standpoint, but it's a big benefit for us," said Burks, who has a 16-month-old daughter. "I know that my wife is really enjoying the game instead of running around with the little ones."
The Bengals did not return requests for comment on whether the improvements for treatment of families were directly linked to poor feedback in the NFLPA report cards.
Some players acknowledged the union's survey process could be refined.
"I'm certain that there will be changes over time, but I think it's important that we try to continue having an opportunity for guys to have their real feedback be heard in some way," said veteran offensive lineman Calvin Anderson, one of the Steelers' NFLPA alternate player representatives.
To the players whom ESPN spoke to, administering the surveys and publishing the results is similar to the evaluation process applied to them by their own team officials.
"They grade us all the time," Lake said. "We get graded every single day, whether it's at practice or during the game. It's just interesting that now they don't want report cards to come out about their organization and stuff like that. That's like, to me, it's a little disappointing because as players, our job is to get graded, but then when they ask us to grade something, they're like, 'Mmm, no.'"
ESPN NFL reporters Ben Baby, Sarah Barshop, Rob Demovsky, Michael DiRocco, Daniel Oyefusi, Don Van Natta, Josh Weinfuss and Seth Wickersham contributed to this story.