NFL files grievance against players' union to stop report cards

Pat Leonard, New York Daily News on Nov 13, 2025

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — The NFL wants the player report cards to stop.

The league filed a grievance against the NFL Players Association asking the union to stop its annual team report cards, according to ESPN, arguing that the grading system violates football’s collective bargaining agreement by airing public criticism of teams.

“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 players.

The league claims the report cards violate a CBA clause that says 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 NFLPA general counsel Tom DePaso.

A team executive added that the grading system could be constructive but is not presented with sufficient solutions or context.

“It could make you better,” the team executive told ESPN, “but they don’t share how. They just take snippets to embarrass people without sharing the data.”

The clear impetus for this grievance, however, is how the 2025 NFLPA report cards reflected on some owners.

Jets owner Woody Johnson received an “F” ownership grade from his own team. And the Steelers’ Art Rooney, the Patriots’ Robert Kraft, the Cardinals’ Michael Bidwill and the Panthers’ David Tepper all received a D or D-.

Johnson called the survey “totally bogus” and hinted that it violated the CBA.

In 2025, 1,695 players leaguewide responded to the surveys.

The Giants dropped to No. 20 overall out of 32 teams after finishing No. 8 in 2024.

They got a C for treatment of families, B for food/dining, C+ for nutritionist/dietician, C- for locker room, B- training room, B training staff, B- weight room, A- strength coaches, B team travel, B+ head coach and C+ ownership.

The Jets, meanwhile, slid to No. 29 out of 32 after finishing at No. 21 the year prior.

They were graded a C- for treatment of families, C- for food/dining, B+ for nutritionist/dietician, D+ for locker room, C training room, C training staff, C+ weight room, B strength coaches, C+ team travel, B head coach and F for ownership.

It doesn’t take much for teams to listen to the players’ feedback and improve their grades, though, if they care.

Last week, for example, the Giants’ equipment room ordered cushioned folding chairs with backs on them for every player’s locker to replace the hard stools they’ve been using for what seems like forever.

That seems like an obvious upgrade that could happen with the snap of a finger and a quick budget approval. And in this case, it did.

One owner told ESPN that “the only owners who don’t care for [the report cards] are the ones who get the subpar grades.”

That adds up.

And in classic NFL fashion, instead of trying to address the actual problems identified by the survey, those owners are more interested in silencing the voices holding them accountable.