The NFL Players Association released its second-annual “Team Report Cards” on Wednesday. For the second straight year, the Kansas City Chiefs were graded poorly, ranking 31st of 32 teams based upon the submissions of 1,700-plus players who were on league rosters in 2023. Kansas City actually managed to drop from 29th a year ago to 31st for 2023.
The NFLPA’s “Report Card” gives grades for each team’s treatment of families, food quality, nutrition programs, locker, training and weight rooms, training staff, strength coaches, travel methods, head coaches and owners.
Here is the overview of Kansas City’s evaluation:
Overview
The Kansas City Chiefs come in second to last place among NFL clubs in this year’s survey. The one bright spot for the team is head coach Andy Reid, who was the highest rated head coach in the NFL. Other than that, the players are frustrated by their workplace offerings, especially after the team’s sustained success in recent years.
The responses identify major issues in two areas: quality of care and out-of-date facilities.
The number one complaint when it comes to the facilities is the locker room. Though the players received actual chairs with backs to sit in at their lockers in response to last year’s feedback, it did not change the fact that the locker room is overdue for a renovation. What adds to the frustration is that management told the players that renovations would come after the 2022 season. The players went on to win the Super Bowl and when they arrived back at their facility for the 2023-2024 season, they realized the team never followed through with the promised renovation (other than adding chairs).
The players’ issue with quality of care is mostly centered around the training room. The players feel that the training room is significantly understaffed, with only 43% of the team responding that they get an adequate amount of one-on-one treatment time. Players feel that the staff is unwilling to provide the necessary treatment to support recovery and performance; for example, players are not allowed to get preventative treatment (soft tissue work, other care) for soreness and day-to-day issues, a regular offering across the NFL.
From the results, it is clear that there has not been a significant reinvestment back into the facilities even after consistent success. That has led to a high level of frustration among player respondents and reflects in club owner Clark Hunt’s ranking as the least willing to invest in team facilities among all NFL owners/ownership group in the opinions of the respondents.
As was noted last year, the Chiefs’ training facility (the University of Kansas Hospital Arrowhead Training Complex) could use some refurbishing (it was last updated in 2007). At the time, we said it seemed somewhat farfetched to believe owner Clark Hunt would be unwilling to make that happen. To be clear, Hunt had just paid $2.5 million to upgrade the Arrowhead Stadium locker rooms, but the players spend the majority of the time preparing for games at the training facility.
It sounds like one of the only upgrades made to that training facility’s locker room was to add chairs with seat backs over the stools. The report indicates that this unfulfilled promise for a facility upgrade is what led to an extremely poor rating for Hunt.
Last year’s poor training grade specifically cited vice president of sports medicine and performance (and head athletic trainer) Rick Burkholder by name. His name never appears in this year’s report. It does say, however, that the “head trainer” received the league’s second-lowest overall grade.
As a whole, this year’s edition points more to the problems with the training room, with players noting they feel trainers are understaffed. Less than half of voters think they get enough one-on-one treatment time — and it sounds like players are being offered little in the way of preventative treatment.
Let’s get to the grades and other notes:
The grades
Family treatment: D+ (18th)
The report notes Arrowhead has a family room, but the club does not offer daycare onsite for children, except on gameday. It is the same grade as last year.
Food service: C- (26th)
The report indicates that food taste and freshness are below league average. However, the grade of C- is an improvement from D+ last year.
Nutritionist: F (31st)
Players gave the Chiefs’ nutritionist the second-lowest individual grade in the league, citing that they are rarely around the building. Only 37% of players feel like they have received a unique nutrition plan. There was no nutritionist grade last year.
Locker room: F (28th)
74% of players feel like the locker room is big enough and 63% feel like they have enough room in their lockers, but league ranks imply that these numbers should be much closer to 100%. As mentioned, there was no full renovation of the practice facility locker room. Some players complained that this was promised. This is a step back from last year when the Chiefs received a D- for the locker room.
Training room: D (31st)
The number of players who believe the team has enough full-time trainers (66%), full-time therapists (48%), hot tub space (82%) and cold tub space (81%) all rank in the bottom half of the league. As noted above, the report shows that these numbers should be close to 100%. The training room dropped from D+ to D year to year.
Training staff: F (32nd)
The report says the Chiefs have the second-worst training staff in the NFL, again stemming from what they list this year as “the head trainer.” Last year’s report made it clear his staff members were well-liked. Chiefs’ trainers received the league’s lowest score for contributions to their team’s success. It sounds like some players feel like the trainers are selective in which players they would be willing to treat. The training staff dipped from D- in 2022 to F in 2023.
Weight room: C+ (23rd)
The Chiefs’ weight room offerings are described as “average,” with players saying they do not have enough room to train effectively. Only the Chiefs (and five other teams) note that their weight room is no better than somewhere they could train off-site. The Chiefs’ weight room maintained its C+ grade from last year.
Strength coaches: C+ (27th)
76% of players feel like they get an individual plan — which sounds like a lot, ranks 30th in the league. Players note that their strength coaches moderately contribute to their success (24th overall). There was no specific strength coach grade last year.
Team travel: D (27th)
83% of players say they have enough personal space during travel, an improvement from 59% last year. The report noted that the Chiefs are one of seven NFL teams that house players with roommates before a game. The team travel grade improved from F to D for the 2023 season.
Head coach: A+ (1st)
Unlike every other category listed, the Chiefs clean up regarding their head coach Andy Reid, who was given the league’s best individual rating. 95% of players said Reid is efficient with their time (11th). When it comes to listening to the locker room, Reid graded sixth overall. There was no head coach grade last year.
Owner: F- (32nd)
The report suggests that Hunt’s failure to fulfill a promise about practice facility renovations led to this grade. It’s unclear what his grade would have been if the renovations had been made.
The bottom line
Going by the year-to-year report cards, it seems the Chiefs took one (and perhaps only one) matter seriously: that practice facility stools needed to be replaced with chairs with backs. Players seemed especially upset about a promised locker room renovation that never happened.
For what it’s worth, the general lack of improvement in grades did nothing to Kansas City’s results on the field, which once again translated to a Super Bowl championship. But it does beg an important question:
How would Kansas City be impacted on the field if it wasn’t for its A+ head coach?