The NFL faced criticism on Friday after succeeding in blocking the release of the NFLPA’s annual team report cards.
The league announced that it had prevailed in a grievance filed against the players union that sought to block the public release of the report cards. The NFL added that it would “develop and administer a scientifically valid survey to solicit accurate and reliable player feedback.”
The NFL’s statement on an arbitrator’s ruling in their favor on the NFLPA’s report cards: “We are pleased with the decision from the arbitrator, upholding the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and prohibiting the NFLPA from disparaging our clubs and individuals through… pic.twitter.com/qINGS9BNVW
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 13, 2026
The NFLPA had previously released the annual player surveys which rated team ownership and facilities in a number of categories. The NFL sought to end them by arguing that the data in them had been cherry-picked.
Several reporters noted that the report cards had led to significant changes for certain teams, and that would likely stop now that they will no longer be public.
I’ll just say this: The report cards absolutely, positively made a difference in how players working conditions changed. And two of the teams that did really poorly on these—Arizona and New England—are now building entirely new practice facilities. https://t.co/WnYzUo4dAi
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 13, 2026
The team report cards were impactful — clearly. Put teams on notice about facilities and treatment. And now it stops. https://t.co/nOvxU7OFfz
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 13, 2026
Billionaires can’t take criticism. I’m shocked. https://t.co/MSXudY2XOg
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) February 13, 2026
NFL won’t let actual players grade the workplace they attend every single day, but they’ll allow a 3rd party “grading” service to display their “rankings” of players on national television every Sunday night… https://t.co/JBQXOgFZIN
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) February 13, 2026
Fundamentally, the NFL almost certainly wanted to stop the publication of the report cards at the behest of owners because they sometimes made some owners look bad. They may have motivated some owners to make changes in response to poor grades, but they did so essentially because they were shamed into it publicly, which was no doubt bad for their reputations.
The NFLPA had been releasing the report cards publicly since 2023. The Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins were the top two teams last year, while the Arizona Cardinals came in at the bottom of the 2025 rankings.
