The NFL has won a grievance it filed against the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) over its annual team report cards, according to multiple reports.
Arbitrators ruled the report cards violated the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the players and owners by ‘disparaging NFL clubs and individuals,’ according to ESPN.
A memo distributed by the league revealed the arbitrator’s findings that the report cards were ‘designed by the union to advance its interests under the guise of a scientific exercise.’
Moreover, the NFLPA refused to produce data related to past surveys – with the union’s witness and council admitting the NFLPA ‘cherry-picked’ topics and responses to include in these report cards.
The league’s memo also says players didn’t have any role in commentary included in the report cards. Instead, that was written by union staffers who chose which quotes to use or exclude.
‘We are pleased with the decision from the arbitrator, upholding the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and prohibiting the NFLPA from disparaging our clubs and individuals through “report cards” allegedly based on data and methodologies that it has steadfastly refused to disclose,’ NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.
The NFL has won a grievance against the player’s union over its use of ‘report cards’ on teams
An arbitrator ruled the NFLPA’s practice violated the collective bargaining agreement
‘We remain committed to working in partnership with the NFLPA and an independent survey company to develop and administer a scientifically valid survey to solicit accurate and reliable player feedback as the parties agreed in the CBA.’
The report cards – which were always intended to be anonymous player surveys – have been conducted and distributed since 2023. Surveys for the 2025 season have already been collected and report cards were set to be published this spring.
However, the league filed its grievance in the fall – claiming it violated the CBA’s clause stating the NFL owners and the NFLPA must ‘use reasonable efforts to curtail public comments by club personnel or players which express criticism of any club, its coach, or its operation and policy.’
The league memo states that teams should continue to solicit feedback from players directly.
The NFL’s Management Council is set to work with the NFLPA to design and conduct a survey to collect players’ opinions on the ‘adequacy of medical care under the CBA.’
NFL Players Association interim executive director David White speaks in San Francisco
Players throughout the league expressed their support for the report cards in the days before Friday’s ruling.
‘I think it’s a great assessment of how players really feel,’ Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum said back in November. ‘It’s objective, especially for the people that are actually in the buildings every single day.
‘No disrespect to the National Football League, but a lot of those folks sit in offices at 345 Park [league headquarters in New York City], and you have folks that are doing these reports that are living, breathing, eating, sleeping, working, the whole nine, that are in these buildings every single day.’
‘It’s a great way to be transparent and a great way to keep everybody accountable.’ Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, who is one of the NFLPA’s 10 vice presidents, added: ‘I think to stop it, it just kind of feels like you’re hiding something.’
