NFLPA Halts Team Report Cards: Here's How It Impacts the Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals will no longer have their report cards made public, after the NFLPA lost a recent ruling.

Cincinnati Bengals executives Mike Brown and his daughter Katie Blackburn talk on the sideline during a session of organized team activities on the Bengals practice field at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NFL dropped a serious news piece on Friday when they announced that the infamous “report cards” that players are able to make for their various organizations would be no longer made public. The news was a huge win for the NFL and a big loss for the NFLPA. The report cards were an item that fans waited for at the end of each season. It gave everyone an inside look at how players truly viewed each franchise, including the treatment of players, their resources, locker room, treatment of families and more.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been marred in controversy over these same report cards for years now, often finishing with some of the lowest grades in the AFC North. In 2025, the Bengals scored an “F-” in treatment of families. It's worth noting that the report cards may have helped nudge them to re-design the locker room, the recovery area for players and other things that Cincinnati has changed for the better over the past few years.

Report Card No Longer Being Made Public Could Help Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals team president Mike Brown answers questions during a press conference announcing Zac Taylor as 10th head coach in Cincinnati Bengals team history, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. | Kareem Elgazzar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the NFLPA lost the fight to continue to share the report cards publicly, it may in fact be a good thing for Cincinnati. The Bengals did not usually have the absolute worst grades each year when it came to the weight room or the nutrition team on staff, but they suffered in other areas that free agents or rookies may care a lot about, such as treatment of families.

Now that the report cards won’t be disclosed to the public, it could possibly help change some of the bad stereotypes and reputation the Bengals have in the minds of free agents or rookies.

Bengals Only Team in NFL With F- for Treatment of Families

Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor speaks at a press conference after wrapping up the 2025 season. | Phil Didion/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While it was never fully disclosed exactly what treatment of families entailed, some reporters ventured that it had to do with lack of daycare for the children of Bengals players, and perhaps the way some players families were treated at the stadium on gameday. The Bengals were the only team to score an “F-” on treatment of families. 

Bengals Received A+ for Locker Room

Dec 28, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) runs off the field after the victory over the Denver Broncos at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

The report cards in the last few years weren't all bad news for Cincinnati. There were in fact quite a few places where the Bengals excelled better than anyone else in the league. The Bengals locker room area received an A+, one of just four organizations to record such a mark in 2025. The Bengals also received an A- for their training staff, which put them in the top-six of all NFL teams in that category.

While the report cards being released to the public every offseason is now a thing of the past, in a weird way it may be better for the Bengals organization moving forward. Players will still see the NFLPA report cards each offseason, but the public backlash will be gone.