The NFL Players Association conducts a yearly survey among the players in the league. They are asked a variety of questions about their team and teams around the league, pertaining to everything from facilities to how well the teams treat their families and guests.
The survey was first held about the 2022 season. The top teams were praised for how well they conduct business, but the bottom teams received ample backlash on social media and the report card results ended up being an unknown PR aspect that teams had to deal with.
After only three full seasons of report cards being released publicly, the NFL filed a grievance that was upheld, which claims the survey violated the current collective bargaining agreement by “disparaging NFL clubs and individuals.” Despite the ruling, the NFLPA said it would continue to conduct the surveys and it just wouldn’t publicize the results.
Despite this goal, ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler released a brief overview of the results, with some specifics. She noted that the Miami Dolphins finished first overall in the report cards, but the Pittsburgh Steelers finished as the worst graded team in the league.
Here is more about what is known about the 2026 NFLPA report cards.
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NFL team report cards 2026
In years past, the report card results had an overall ranking, but also had a letter grade ranging from A+ to F- for each team in treatment of families, food/dining area, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and ownership.
Unfortunately, with the results not being released in full after the league’s grievance was upheld, we know very little about the results outside of the top and bottom teams. The Dolphins finished as the top team, followed by the Minnesota Vikings in second and the Washington Commanders in third.
The Steelers were ranked as the worst team in the league, with the Arizona Cardinals coming in at 31st and the Cleveland Browns finishing in 30th. The results were based on responses from 1,759 players.
Here are the full results from this year’s survey.
TeamTreatment of FamiliesFood/Dining AreaNutritionist/DieticianLocker RoomTraining RoomTraining StaffWeight RoomStrength CoachesTeam TravelHead CoachOwnershipArizona CardinalsD+C-BF-D+B-D+B-C+B+FAtlanta FalconsB+A-ABA-AAAB+B+ABaltimore RavensB+BA-B-ABAAB-BA+Buffalo BillsBB-B-BB+B+AAB-A-A-Carolina PanthersBB+A-D+BA-BA-DA-B-Chicago BearsC+CBABBAA-B+AA-Cincinnati BengalsF-F-FA-A-A-A-AC-A-D+Cleveland BrownsD-D+C+FCC+B+B+D-C-CDallas CowboysBBB+B+DCA-A-CBBDenver BroncosBAB+DA-AAAA-BA+Detroit LionsB-BA-AA-B+AABAAGreen Bay PackersC+B+BACCA-BB-B-A-Houston TexansB-AAB+AAAAB-A-AIndianapolis ColtsBBA-C+BB+BAB-A-AJacksonville JaguarsB+B+A-A-AA-AAB+A-AKansas City ChiefsCC+A-FC-CBB+D-AC+Las Vegas RaidersAAAAAAA+ABC+ALos Angeles ChargersC+B+A-A-A-A-A-BB-C+A-Los Angeles RamsC+DBDBABABA+BMiami DolphinsB+AA-A-AAA+A+ABAMinnesota VikingsAB-B+AA-A-A-AB+AA+New England PatriotsBD+BC-C-BC-A-FAB-New Orleans SaintsBA-B+BAAA-AA-A-A-New York GiantsB-B+A-DB-B+BB+CCBNew York JetsB+BAA-BB+B+AB+ABPhiladelphia EaglesC+AB+DB-AA-A-FABPittsburgh SteelersFB-BF-CB+BB-FAD-San Francisco 49ersBAB+BC-C-AAC+A-A-Seattle SeahawksB+A-AB+A-AA-AA-AATampa Bay BuccaneersDD+B-D-CC+A-AFBDTennessee TitansB+BBD+B-B+BBC+B-CWashington CommandersB+A-A-BA-AAA+B-A+A+
MORE: 2025 NFL report card results
Why were Steelers voted worst?
According to the results, the Steelers finished as the worst team in the league. The survey said, “[Steelers owner] Art Rooney ranks last in the league for willingness to invest in facilities, a trend reflected in the Steelers’ poor facility ratings across the board.”
The NFLPA added a new category this year about the quality of the home field. Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium finished in last place “by a wide margin.” About the low rating, the survey said, “Players cite inadequate maintenance and excessive wear from hosting local college and high school games. Players across the league note the poor condition of the field and emphasize the need for investment to bring it up to standard.”
The Pittsburgh locker room also got an F rating. One of the main reasons was that the bathroom “has only five bathroom stalls for the entire team.”
The strength coaches ranked last in the league, despite the training staff ranking first. The survey also reported that the training room lacks “updated recovery technology and modalities,” which is a surprise given the high-caliber health care available in Pittsburgh.
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Why were Dolphins voted best?
The Dolphins ranked first overall in the survey results. Unfortunately, since they aren’t made public, it is unknown what their individual grades were that resulted in the overall ranking. It has been reported that Miami ranked fourth in the new home field category because of the natural grass at Hard Rock Stadium, “with players highlighting their preference for quality grass fields like this one.”
Mike McDaniel, who was fired after the regular season when the surveys were conducted, dropped from an A+ rating to a B. The reasoning was, “players identify scheduling, communication, and leadership as key areas for head coaching improvement.”
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NFL statement to teams
The NFLPA is not supposed to publicly release the results. After the report cards were leaked, the NFL sent a memo to its teams explaining why the results shouldn’t be taken seriously because of the undefined process used to calculate and assemble them. More importantly, at the end, the league said that they will be looking into the report cards being released in light of the arbitrator’s decision which means there could be some punishment coming for whoever is found to be responsible.
The NFL has sent this memo to clubs following the leaked NFLPA report cards, saying teams should refrain from “commenting or engaging publicly on the alleged survey and Report Card results.” pic.twitter.com/ovczEWF8jM
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) February 27, 2026