NFL files grievance against NFLPA over annual team report cards, alleges CBA violation

The NFL filed a grievance in August against the NFL Players Association over the union's annual team report cards, which the league said violate the collective bargaining agreement. In documents obtained by CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, the NFL alleged that the report cards also violate the league's constitution and bylaws, which prohibit players from "publicly criticizing any member club or its management, personnel, employees or coaches."

Each year, the NFLPA surveys players on numerous aspects of their working conditions and assigns grades to each franchise on those categories. Teams also receive an overall grade and are ranked from 1-32. Categories on the report cards include team ownership, head coach, various facility-related subjects and treatment of families.

That the NFLPA not only posts the results on its website but also conduct media interviews to amplify the findings, which goes against a CBA clause, the league said, that requires the union to "use reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by … players which express criticism of any club, its coach, or its operation and policy, or which tend to cast discredit upon a club … or any other person involved in the operation of a club." The NFLPA notified the players of the grievance last week and will move forward with conducting this year's survey, according to ESPN.

"We have responded to the grievance with our intention to fight against this action and continue what's clearly become an effective tool for comparing workplace standards across the league and equipping you to make informed career decisions," the NFLPA said in correspondence with the players.

Owners throughout the NFL have long opposed the report cards because of the negative marks given to poor-performing teams. The league said it asked the union in 2024 and again in June 2025 to suspend the annual survey.

The NFL also said it has a standing agreement under the CBA with the NFLPA to conduct its own survey of all NFL players every three years to determine the "adequacy of player care and other relevant topics." The NFL seeks for the NFLPA to suspend its report cards and instead administer the league-sanctioned poll, which it claims is more scientifically valid.

The NFLPA surveyed 1,695 players for the 2025 report cards, which it released to the public in February. The Miami Dolphins received the highest score of any team and had no grades below an "A" across the 11 categories. The Arizona Cardinals, on the other hand, ranked 32nd and had six grades of "D+" or lower.

The Minnesota Vikings ranked second in the 2025 results with the Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers rounding out the top five. At the bottom of the standings, the New England Patriots ranked just ahead of the Cardinals at No. 31 with the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers composing the rest of the bottom five.