The NFL Players Association released on Wednesday "free agency report cards" for all 32 teams based on the answers from 1,300 players on a 60-question survey about the working conditions and daily experiences of players at team facilities.
The NFLPA report card has grades in eight categories ranging from quality of facility to nutrition and travel in the hopes of providing prospective free agents with information that would help "illuminate what the daily experience is like for players and their families from team to team."
And the Washington Commanders have finished dead last in the NFL. "The locker room does not have confidence that club owner Dan Snyder is willing to invest to upgrade the facilities, as player responses rank him 31st in this category," the report read.
“Besides the strength coaches who received great feedback and grades as one of the best groups in the league, the rest of the club’s operations and facilities were rated by player respondents at the bottom of every single category,” the NFLPA report card on the Commanders read.
Here are the complete grades in all eight categories with rankings out of 32 teams:
Treatment of families F (tied for last)
Food service/nutrition D+ (tied for 18th)
Weight room C+ (tied for 22nd)
Strength coaches A+ (tied for 1st)
Training room F- (tied for last)
Training staff D (31st)
Locker room F- (last)
Team travel F- (last)
A Commanders spokesperson issued the following response to the NFLPA's findings: "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. 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."
The NFLPA report said players had "significantly more concerns with each area of the facility than the player respondents on any other team,” and highlighted Washington as the team “most consistently identified as having an understaffed training room.”
The respondents in the survey said the Commanders had some of the smallest hot and cold tubs for player recovery. There were also complaints of a lack of warm water and poor draining in showers. And only 35 percent of players said they felt like they had enough personal space in their locker room.
Space was also an issue on team flights with only 22 percent of respondents saying they felt like they had enough space. The NFLPA said the Commanders are one of seven NFL teams that don’t offer players first-class seats.
Washington is one of six teams that make a segment of their players have roommates before games.
The three other teams in the NFC East all were ranked in the top half of the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys ranked fifth out of 32, the New York Giants eighth, and the Philadelphia Eagles 14th.
The Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, and Los Vegas Raiders were the three top teams. The Los Angeles Chargers (30th) and Arizona Cardinals (31st) finished just above Washington.
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