Silencing the Scorecard: How the NFL’s Ban on Player Report Cards Undermines Transparency
The Rise of the NFLPA Report Cards
During the 2022-2023 season, the National Football League Player Association ("NFLPA") introduced annual team report cards that surveyed players about their working conditions across the league.[2] The surveys asked players to evaluate categories such as locker rooms, training facilities, nutrition programs, travel arrangements, the treatment of players’ families, and offensive, defensive, and head coaching.[3] The results were then aggregated into letter grades “A+” to “F-” and overall rankings for all teams in the NFL with accompanying player comments giving context to the results.[4] Teams with stronger facilities, player support, and more in-season success often received high grades, while those with outdated locker rooms and facilities or poor player support received lower grades.[5] The rankings became relevant to players in free agency as a way to compare the workplace conditions offered by different teams before signing.[6] As a result, the report cards were widely recognized as a rare form of transparency in the NFL by publicly revealing teams' treatment of athletes.[7]
The NFL’s Use of Arbitration to Push Back
The report cards have proven popular amongst players and fans alike, but they generated significant pushback from team ownership.[8] Low rankings were spread widely on media outlets, tarnishing low-ranking franchises’ reputations and potentially influencing free-agent players’ decisions on where to sign contracts.[9] In response, the NFL filed a grievance against the NFLPA for violating the league’s collective bargaining agreement.[10] Specifically, the league argued that the report cards violated the NFL Constitution and Bylaws Article 51, § 6, which requires the NFLPA and league management to use “reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by Club personnel or players which express criticism of any club....”[11] The league “also asserted that NFLPA witnesses admitted to using ‘cherry-picked’ topics, responses, and quotes in the published results and said the players didn’t have a say in ‘drafting commentary....’”[12] Lastly, the league argued that the NFLPA weighed certain topics differently, “tipping the scales” when determining the alphabetical grades assigned to each category.[13] The league concluded that “the Report Cards were designed by the union to advance its interests under the guise of scientific exercise.”[14] In February 2026, an arbitrator ruled that the NFLPA’s public release of team report cards violated the collective bargaining agreement, ordering the NFLPA to stop making future report cards public.[15] The grievance marked a notable escalation in tensions between the league and the NFLPA over narratives surrounding team operations.[16]
Leaks, Transparency, and Rising Tensions: The Rocky Future of the NFLPA
The arbitration ruling and the leaks that followed reflect a broader struggle between the NFL and NFLPA over the years over who controls information about NFL teams operational and how transparent these operations should be to both the players and public.[17]
After the ruling, which prevented the official release of report cards for the 2025-2026 season, the NFLPA announced that players and teams would continue to receive the results, “strongly disagreeing with the restriction on making those results public....”[18] Two weeks later, the NFLPA report cards were leaked as teams and draft prospects gathered for the 2026 NFL Combine.[19] ESPN obtained the results based on responses from 1,759 players, confirming the survey was conducted from November 2nd to December 11th, months before the NFL filed its grievance to stop the report cards’ publication.[20] However, the leaked report cards only included letter grades for the traditional categories analyzed by the NFLPA each year; the leaked report cards lacked player comments that gave context to the grades.[21]
In a memo sent to teams, the league cautioned against “commenting or engaging publicly on the alleged survey and report card results.”[22] Critics within the league, however, including players, maintain that the surveys should continue to be released as there has been evidence that the public release of NFLPA report cards has led to significant improvements among team facilities.[23] After receiving an "F-” grade for their treatment of players’ families in 2024, the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft made immediate improvements such as adding a family room to the stadium and childcare services during games; the 2025 report card showed a clear improvement up to a “C+” grade.[24] Similarly, the Philadelphia Eagles had some of the smallest hot/cold tubs in the league during the 2024 season which was specifically cited in player comments.[25] Owner Jeffrey Lurie updated these facilities in the subsequent offseason.[26]
In attempting to silence the public release of the report cards, the league ultimately affirmed its distaste for the transparency they offer – tilting the scale between institutional reputation and transparency in favor of the league. In doing so, the NFL not only limited one of the only windows into the working conditions of its players but reinforced the league’s reputation for tightly controlling the narratives surrounding its clubs’ operations.
Nikki Sripathi '28 (contributing editor), is a 2L from Phillipsburg, New Jersey. She graduated from Elon University with a B.A. In Psychology in 2025. She's a lifelong Eagles fan, and enjoys hiking, baking, and watching sports. Following graduation, Nikki hopes to pursue a legal career in-house for a sports team or sports governing body.
References:
[2] UPI. NFL Wins Grievance vs. Union, Prohibits Public Team Report Cards. (February 13, 2026). https://www.breitbart.com/news/nfl-wins-grievance-vs-union-prohibits-public-team-report-cards/
[3] Id.
[4] NFLPA. NFLPA Team Report Cards 2025. https://nflpa.com/report-cards/2025
[5] Watson Jr., Jason. NFLPA team report cards to be kept private, no longer public. (February 13, 2026). https://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/new-orleans-saints-news/106624/nflpa-team-report-cards-to-be-kept-private-no-longer-public
[6] Nivinson, Austin. NFL wins grievance against NFLPA, putting an end to public yearly team report cards. (February 13, 2026). https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-grievance-nflpa-team-report-cards/
[7] Id.
[8] Reuters. The NFLPA still plans to collect team report cards despite arbitration ruling. (February 13, 2026). https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl-team-report-cards-must-go-after-grievance-ruling--flm-2026-02-13
[9] Id.
[10] Nivinson, Austin. NFL wins grievance against NFLPA, putting an end to public yearly team report cards. (February 13, 2026). https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-grievance-nflpa-team-report-cards/
[11] Epstein, Jori. Sources: NFL files grievance against NFLPA, complicating team report card process. (November 13, 2025). https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/sources-nfl-files-grievances-against-nflpa-complicating-team-report-card-process-182107090.html
[12] Nivinson, Austin. NFL wins grievance against NFLPA, putting an end to public yearly team report cards. (February 13, 2026). https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-grievance-nflpa-team-report-cards/
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Id.
[17] Rumsey, David. NFLPA Report Cars Leak Despite Ban on Public Release. (February 26, 2026). https://frontofficesports.com/nflpa-report-cards-leak-despite-ban/
[18] Reuters. The NFLPA still plans to collect team report cards despite arbitration ruling. (February 13, 2026). https://www.reuters.com/sports/nfl-team-report-cards-must-go-after-grievance-ruling--flm-2026-02-13
[19] Rumsey, David. NFLPA Report Cars Leak Despite Ban on Public Release. (February 26, 2026). https://frontofficesports.com/nflpa-report-cards-leak-despite-ban/
[20] Kahler, Kalyn. NLPA 2026 report cards: See the results for all 32 teams. (February 26, 2026). https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47987931/nfl-2026-report-cards-nflpa-32-teams
[21] Rumsey, David. NFLPA Report Cars Leak Despite Ban on Public Release. (February 26, 2026). https://frontofficesports.com/nflpa-report-cards-leak-despite-ban/
[22] Id.
[23] Pryor, Brooke. NFL players react to league’s grievance over team report cards. (November 17, 2025). https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46995326/nfl-players-nflpa-reaction-2025-league-grievance-team-report-cards-survey
[24] NFLPA. Report Card 2025, New England Patriots. (2025). https://nflpa.com/report-cards/2025/new-england-patriots
[25] NFLPA. Philadelphia Eagles Report Card 2024. (2024). https://nflpa.com/philadelphia-eagles-report-card-2024
[26] Id.
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