In February, the NFL won its grievance against the NFLPA relating to its annual survey in which players rate their franchise on key items such as facilities, childcare services, and travel accommodations. An arbitrator determined that the surveys, whose results were published publicly as “report cards,” s violated the current collective bargaining agreement by “disparaging NFL clubs and individuals.”
However, the arbitrator’s ruling didn’t prohibit the players’ association from continuing to conduct their surveys, only publish the results.
“The ruling upholds our right to survey players and share the results with players and clubs,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “While we strongly disagree with the restriction on making those results public, that limitation does not stop the program or its impact. Players will continue to receive the results, and teams will continue to hear directly from their locker rooms.”
It’s a good thing that the NFLPA stood firm and is continuing to conduct the surveys, as the San Francisco 49ers have proved that the report cards can work exactly as they’re intended.
“John Lynch says the 49ers dug deeper into the NFLPA report card in which the team’s training staff grades were relatively poor. The 49ers found that players wanted more 1-on-1 attention, so team is hiring 3 more PTs and investing $9 million in hydro areas (cold plunge, pools) which had graded low at the team facility,” reported 49ers analyst David Lombardi on Sunday.
Former NFL star and Amazon game analyst Richard Sherman weighed in on the report cards following Lombardi’s report, saying that the surveys are beneficial when franchises don’t take offense to them.
This is why the report cards work for Orgs that aren’t “offended” by the critique. Just look to improve. https://t.co/qDlCHGDpdj
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) March 29, 2026
Hopefully, more franchises take a similar approach to San Francisco moving forward, rather than neglecting players and their families in order to save money.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.