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Art Rooney II’s Pittsburgh Steelers landed an embarrassing low grade in the 2026 NFLPA report card.
Move over, Bob Nutting. Art Rooney II appears to be closer to competing for the title, “worst sports owner in Pittsburgh” than another Super Bowl championship.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler reported the full results from the latest NFLPA survey conducted from Nov. 2 to Dec. 11, 2025.
For the first time since the union’s survey began in 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished last. They dropped from the No. 28 spot in last year’s survey.
The Steelers scored highly in the “head coach” and “special teams coordinator” categories. But the organization received failing or near failing grades in most categories related to the team’s ownership.
“‘[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,’ according to the survey,” wrote Kahler.
“In a new category added this year, the Steelers had the lowest-rated home field in the league ‘by a wide margin.’”
“‘Players cite inadequate maintenance and excessive wear from hosting local college and high school games,’ according to the survey. ‘Players across the league note the poor condition of the field and emphasize the need for investment to bring it up to standard.’”
The playing conditions at Acrisure Stadium have been a public debate for quite some time. But the Steelers also received an F grade in three other categories — treatment of families, locker room, and team travel.
In the Team Ownership category, Rooney scored a D-minus.
Steelers Receive Scathing Criticism for Locker Room
After finishing 28th in the NFLPA survey last season, one would have thought Rooney and the Steelers would have tried to improve in a lot of areas. But instead of seemingly taking the responses seriously, Rooney has criticized the feedback in the past.
“It doesn’t get presented to us, it gets presented to the media,” Rooney told Mark Kaboly in March 2024. So, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a media opportunity for the players association as opposed to a serious effort of constructive criticism.”
Rooney was the reason for most of the worst grades the Steelers received in the 2026 report card.
“The Steelers’ locker room was graded an F. Players reported that it ‘has only five bathroom stalls for the entire team,’” wrote Kahler.
“Per the survey, players report that the Steelers’ training room lacks updated recovery technology and ‘modalities.’ Pittsburgh’s strength coaches ranked last in the NFL, though the training staff ranked first.”
Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten told ESPN the team didn’t have a comment on the survey Thursday.
The report cards graded all 32 NFL franchises in various categories from A-plus to F-minus. This year’s report cards included responses from 1,759 players.
NFLPA Reports Cards Still Made Public
In early February, an arbitrator agreed with a grievance the NFL filed that the report cards becoming public violated the collective bargaining agreement.
That appeared to be a major score for a lot of owners, including Rooney, who received criticism in each of the first three report cards from 2023-25.
But Thursday, ESPN released the survey results, which, in a way, might make Rooney’s grades more embarrassing. They were not supposed to be public and yet are now anyway.
Based on Rooney’s indifference to past NFLPA report cards, it’s quite possible his 2026 grades won’t change anything. But with each passing year where Steelers fans have to read about embarrassingly poor facilities after a first-round playoff exit, the team damages its brand.
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
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