Chiefs Rank Among Worst Teams in NFLPA Player Team Report Card
2023 NFL free agency is right around the corner, and the league's players are now getting a bit of extra insight in regards to what their future clubs may — or may not — be able to offer them.
In an effort to "improve the overall working conditions" of players, "help them make important career decisions" and also "help raise standards across the league," the NFL Players Association worked with President JC Tretter to come up with the very first installment of the NFL Player Team Report Cards. The reports, which were released on Wednesday, gave all 32 teams throughout the league a series of grades in various categories and then also ranked them on a general basis. In total, the project consisted of 1,300 player-surveyed responses that contributed to the respective grades and reports based on that player input.
For the Chiefs, they check in at No. 29 overall. The Super Bowl LVII champions received very low marks for their training room (D+, T-24th), training staff (D-, 32nd), locker room (D-, T-28th) and team travel (F, T-28th). A full breakdown of the key categories can be reviewed below:
The aforementioned rankings undoubtedly dragged Kansas City's composite grade down, and the highest the team ranked in their eight categories was T-12th with a "B" grade for treatment of families. Overall, positive feedback included tips of the cap to the franchise offering a family room, having enough strength coaches in the weight room, giving players individualized strength plans and providing ample space in the team's sauna and steam room areas.
In terms of negative responses, a lot of it stemmed from the training staff. The report card notes that "players' key concerns are with head trainer Rick Burkholder" and not the rest of his staff. Further details revealed that some players feel like they don't get quality personal care but fear speaking up about it, as well as feeling "discouraged from reporting their injuries." Additionally, Kansas City's poor travel grade was a result of some young players being forced to have roommates and 41% of players believing they don't have enough room to spread out during the travel process.
The report card website indicates that player opinions and feedback will continue to be taken into account on a yearly basis moving forward. For teams like the Chiefs, this presents low-ranking organizations with opportunities to make swift improvements that will be worthwhile in the eyes of their players. If those efforts are successful and experiences change for the better, a jump up the league-wide leaderboard could be just 12 months away.
A full breakdown of all 32 teams' report cards — including sortable category scores and more on the Player Team Report Card process and reasoning — can be found here.
