PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN
Some
billion-dollar franchises are still getting away with penny-pinching measures;
NFLPA team report cards aim to expose them
BY
MIKE BEACOM
Photo
by Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports
Vince
Lombardi will forever be credited for popularizing “Winning isn’t everything,
it’s the only
thing,” even though Lombardi felt his words were taken out of context. The
Packers’ legendary head coach of the 1960s clarified sometime later that he had
meant to emphasize “the will to win.” Regardless, the overall message remained
the same: winning ranks above all else.
But
does it still?
This
offseason, the Washington Commanders were expected to sell for a record $6.05
billion. The club has not won a Super Bowl since the 1991 season and has
claimed only three playoff victories in the 31 NFL seasons since (its most
recent in January 2006).
The
NFL is a brand — a very lucrative brand — whose teams sell tickets, merchandise
and sponsorships, regardless of success on the field. When it comes to the
business of pro football in 2023, winning isn’t the only thing;
it may not even be the most important thing.
But
one thing that did cast initial doubt for the Washington sale was the toxic
culture that had been portrayed by media and former players. Turning a losing
franchise into a winner can happen in a few seasons with the right changes and a
little luck. But turning around a toxic workplace? It’s something NFL
franchises have largely neglected up to now.
This
offseason, the NFL Players Association released team report cards to assess how
well franchises are being run off the field. It was a bold move — one that’s
been in the works for some time — and it exposed where teams invest back into
the workplace to benefit “the product” that is largely responsible for
ever-growing franchise valuations.
Wrote
NFLPA President JC Tretter in March to accompany the report: “ ... for the
first time, we are peeling back the curtain on issues that we talk about among
ourselves as players but have been unable to organize and publish in a
centralized way.”
SO WHAT’S
BEHIND THE CURTAIN?
The
more than 1,300 players surveyed were asked to critique their team’s
performance in eight categories: treatment of families, nutrition, weight room,
strength staff, training room, training staff, locker room and team travel.
Players scored each category on a 1-5 scale and were encouraged to provide
comments, where applicable. The only team to receive an A rating in all eight
categories was Minnesota. Miami received A grades in seven of eight.
There
was little correlation between overall team scores and recent on-field success.
In fact, the top five-rated teams (Minnesota, Miami, Las Vegas, Houston and
Dallas) were a combined 43-41-1 last season, with only the Cowboys winning a
playoff game. The Texans’ 3-13-1 record brought the numbers down and the other
four teams were a combined 40-28. Here’s a snapshot of some of the feedback collected
from players surveyed for the report:
•
Because the Jaguars do not offer a family
room,
players’ wives have breast-fed their
babies
on the floor of the stadium’s public
restrooms.
•
If Cardinals players would like dinner,
staff
will box one up, but the team charges
them
via payroll deduction (apparently the
only
club in the league to do so).
•
Some Washington players complained
that
there is a lack of warm water and poor
drainage
in the showers.
•
Cincinnati’s lockers do not have outlets
for
players to charge devices.
•
The Colts are one of only six teams that
require
young players to have roommates
during
road trips, and one of seven teams
that
do not offer first-class tickets to any
players.
To
some, this may sound like entitlement, but others would argue
multi-billion-dollar organizations can afford basic amenities for the lifeblood
of these organizations.
When
he heard of Washington’s valuation, Miami head coach and one-time Washington assistant
Mike McDaniel quipped, “Wow, the organization’s worth that much?
And I couldn’t get free coffee!?”
Agent Neil Cornrich has been representing
his clients’ best interests for more than three decades. For Cornrich, that has
always involved looking beyond what’s outlined in the player’s contract.
“We’ve always tried to tilt the
playing field toward the player being selected by an organization which
optimizes his best opportunity for success and longevity,” he said.
According to Cornrich, many of the
clubs he deals with understand that little things can make a big difference in
a player’s development and overall happiness. The report cards, he believes,
could incentivize the other clubs to step up their game.
“These are $6 billion organizations now.
There’s no reason they can’t invest in these areas to make it a healthier work environment.”
WILL POOR
GRADES LEAD TO CHANGE?
In
his March letter, Tretter outlined the three primary objectives of the team
report cards: highlight positive clubs, identify clubs that need improvement,
and highlight best practices and standards.
Some
clubs took offense to the exercise. “They didn’t want help; they wanted shock factor
and embarrassment,” one league executive told The Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler this
spring.
Motives
aside, the team report cards illustrate that NFL players are largely underwhelmed
by how much teams are investing in facilities and essential services. One-third
of teams received a C grade or lower for their weight room, and one-half of
teams received a C grade or lower for their training room. Only four teams
received an A grade for their treatment of families.
Still,
why should we believe that teams lagging behind the curve will succumb to peer
pressure? Washington ranked 32nd in the NFLPA’s first-ever team report cards
and the news broke before owner Daniel Snyder received the $6 billion-plus bid
— a number more than seven times the $800 million he paid for the club in 1999.
The
answer could be the NFLPA’s resolve. NFL management and labor have always been
at odds. Prior to the 1970 season, as the NFL and AFL merged into one league
and the two respective players’ associations did the same, the players
threatened their first strike. But management still had a stronghold over labor,
and the players were poorly organized and lacked clear purpose.
“The
guess was the players were primarily concerned about pension, insurance, disability
benefits and things of that nature,” said players’ union attorney Ed Garvey in 2011.
The players made small strides in 1974, 1982 and 1987 until securing the right
to free agency in the early 1990s.
That
long journey has allowed today’s players to shift their focus from financial
objectives to better workplace conditions. It fits the times we live in; a 2018
Gallup poll found millennials value working for an employer who cares about their
well-being above all else.
But
critics warn that unless players begin to weigh NFLPA report card findings
heavily in free-agent considerations, this all will be nothing more than an
annual news release.
Cornrich believes it’s something
that has always factored into player decisions.
One of his former clients,
eight-time Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda, was a third-round selection by the
Ravens in the 2007 NFL Draft. He spent his entire 13-year career in Baltimore,
and many believe Yanda will soon be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“He had opportunities twice in free
agency to go other places for more money and chose to stay in Baltimore because
they were always successful and they treated people right,” Cornrich said.
The
Ravens scored favorably in several areas, but ranked near the bottom of the league
in the weight room and strength staff categories. Just prior to the report card’s
release, the team fired strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders.
Perhaps
more than anything, the NFLPA report cards provide a glimpse into how players
feel about ownership. Every Ravens player surveyed gave owner Steve Bisciotti a
positive grade, probably because Bisciotti has been one owner who has
consistently responded to the needs of his organization.
“It all comes from the top,” said
Cornrich. “Eddie DeBartolo is in the Hall of Fame for a reason, and Robert
Kraft will be shortly.”
WHERE DO
THINGS LEAD FROM HERE?
Tretter
suggested the NFLPA will collect player feedback annually to measure progress and
incentivize teams to invest in the workplace. At least a few teams have pledged
they’re prepared to do so.
The
reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs ranked 29th in the report, scoring no
higher than 12th in any single category. Kansas City owner Clark Hunt told
reporters during 2023 NFL Draft weekend: “Nobody likes criticism, but you know,
from my standpoint, feedback is always positive, and so you know we’ll take and
learn from it.”
The
Arizona Cardinals ranked secondto- last in the report, but owner Michael Bidwill
quickly took note. When Bidwill hired Jonathan Gannon to be the team’s new head
coach, the two talked at length about improving many of the areas that were
later outlined in the report.
“The
directive (from Bidwill) was, ‘I want a fresh set of eyes on everything that
we’re
doing
with football operations, and I want to know between you and (general manager Monti
Ossenfort), how it can be better and how we can improve that,’” Gannon told
reporters. “So, not really concerned about what went on in the past. I’m
concerned about how we move forward to help our team win.”
Later,
at the league meeting in March, Gannon said some “big-time changes” had already
occurred.
“I’m
not going to get too much into it,” he added, “but food, weight room,
facilities, contracts, Michael has been fantastic. He came in my office the
other day saying he wanted technology (talked about) and graded. We had a couple
meetings with the heads of departments and we said, ‘We need this, this, and
this; we don’t need this,’ and he’s pulled the trigger on all of it.
“Everything
I’ve said that I felt we wanted or needed has come to fruition.” Some have
suggested there is a need to refine the next round of the report cards’ criteria
and add categories. Said
Cornrich, “One thing these report cards don’t mention, which I think they
should, is medical staff. That’s different from training staff.”
There
really is no limit to what the players can evaluate — practice and playing
field conditions, team traditions, community outreach — but ultimately change
will come when teams believe that a better work environment is marketable to
prospective free agents, coaches and corporate sponsors. Those elements lead to
wins, franchise stability and revenue.
Speaking
to reporters at the Combine, second-year Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell
said his team’s high scores are a reflection of the organization’s commitment to
building the right culture and connecting with players.
“Culture
is people and it’s something we strive to work on every single day, and I think
our players feel that,” O’Connell said.
He
added, “One of the things that I look back on a year ago and I think about
using words like connecting with our players and the collaboration that goes
into what pro football should be at this level. It goes so much beyond those
words and people kind of chuckle sometimes as you use some of these cliché-like
words; well, they’re not cliché when you go to work every day and try to join
with a great group of people and a great support staff at every level of our organization.
It’s not a cliché when people make that our mission statement, to provide the
premier place to go to work and improve both personally and collectively as a
team in our league means a lot to us.”
The
Vikings didn’t lure any high-profile talent to the Twin Cities this offseason selling
culture, and they aren’t among the favorites to compete for the Super Bowl. But
nothing happens overnight in pro football. A few years from now, the March
release of the NFLPA’s team report cards could be necessary reading for players
heading into free agency.
And
while no one is arguing that state-ofthe- art training rooms and first-class
tickets lead to more wins, or even higher franchise valuations, what the NFLPA
is saying is that taking better care of the players (and those around them)
will lead to better management/labor relations and possibly a higher
probability for prolonged success in the league.
“Happy, healthy players usually have
happy, healthy careers,” said Cornrich. “Everyone should be in favor of that.”
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