Stolen Cars, Sewage Leaks and Bugs: Oddest Insights From NFL Players Survey

Sewage leaks, bugs in the shower, stolen cars—the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) report cards released Wednesday offer a behind-the-scenes look at some of the wide-ranging complaints players have against their respective teams.

Union President JC Tretter considers this project, in its second year, a sort of "free agency guide" that strives to capture the experiences of an NFL player inside the workplace.

The Miami Dolphins earned top marks on this year's edition, while the Washington Commanders finished last (again), with—surprisingly—the Kansas City Chiefs right beside them. Results for these surveys were collected from August 26 to November 16 of last year. The NFLPA said 1,706 players participated anonymously.

On each team's specific card, player feedback is relayed—the good, the bad and the odd. A Jacksonville Jaguars rat problem reported last year was in NFL gossip. And there's plenty more where that came from this year.

Newsweek reached out to the teams mentioned below via email or their contact pages, seeking further comment about the results.

Here's a look at 10 of the more random revelations from this year's survey.

Falcons Strength Grades Are Weak

The Atlanta Falcons graded at 25th among all NFL teams, though their strength training grades are the type of marks an underachieving student would try to hide from a disappointed parent.

Atlanta received an F (31st in league) and F- (last) for its weight room and strength coaches. The survey noted that "the Falcons are the only team in the NFL where the majority of players say they would get better strength coaching care offsite than from the team." Ouch.

This was the only survey around the league that said players thought the strength coaches actually detracted from their overall success. A "toxic" weight room environment was mentioned, though the union noted players were complimentary about assistant strength coaches and problems were directly tied to the head strength coach (who has since been removed).

Bigger Airplane Seats, Please

A variety of this year's report cards, including those for the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans, cited player complaints about cramped seating conditions during air travel. The section on the Buffalo Bills—who had the lowest percentage of players report that they had comfortable personal space while traveling—said: "Players are frustrated by seating on the team plane. Staff members get priority over the players, who are mostly assigned to the smaller economy seats where many of the bigger players don't comfortably fit.'"

In other words, some more legroom would be nice.

Panthers Players Burned by Turf Change

The Carolina Panthers were in the middle of this year's pack, finishing 17th overall, but one major factor prevented Carolina from placing higher. Team owner David Tepper received a D grade, which the union attributed to the ownership's decision to change from natural grass to synthetic turf in 2021.

"When asked this season, 100 percent of the player respondents in Carolina said they would prefer to play on grass [rather] than turf." This remains a "major frustration" to Panthers players, the survey said.

The Bengals Need More Toilets

A trio of F- grades sits atop the Cincinnati Bengals' 26th-ranked report card in the "treatment of families," "food/cafeteria" and "nutritionist/dietician" categories.

The Bengals are one of four teams to offer neither a family room nor day care for the players' families on game day, are the only team that closes its cafeteria on players' day off and don't provide three meals a day for players, one of only two franchises in the league to not do so, the survey said. Then there's the locker room.

Roughly 50 percent of the showers don't work, and the team faces "consistent plumbing issues that limit the amount of functioning toilets the players can use."

Broncos Battling...Car Theft?

The Denver Broncos have one concern listed on their 16th-ranked survey not mentioned elsewhere. And, of all things, it has to do with theft prevention.

As mentioned by the union at the top of the team's NFLPA page, Denver players "reported that there were multiple cars stolen from the parking lot of the mandated team hotel during training camp."

Jaguars Might Need New Babysitters

The rats are gone and Jacksonville was the biggest riser in this year's survey (moving all the way up to fifth), but an off-field complaint stood out in the glowing report.

The Jags received a D- in the "treatment of families" category. The union said the franchise did start offering child care this year, but respondents said it was "unreliable" and not "worth bringing their kids to."

Well, that should be easier to deal with than the rodents, at least.

Chiefs Settle for Better Chairs

Aside from gushing reviews for head coach Andy Reid, the Super Bowl–winning Chiefs were heavily criticized by players. That might even be putting things lightly.

KC received three Fs, plus a league-worst F- for owner Clark Hunt. And that last bit is directly related to a stated need for facility improvements. The "number one complaint" by Chiefs players in that area was related to the locker room.

Survey results indicate that players received "actual chairs" with backs at their lockers after last year's feedback, though the locker room itself is still said to be overdue for a renovation. The survey said: "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)."

Chargers Charge for Child Care

Let the jokes begin about the Chargers charging for child care after having to look out once for Philip Rivers' dozen or so kids.

The survey said that the team provides day care, though it is not on site and players have to pay $75 for the first child and $50 for each additional child per family, which the union notes is not typical around the league.

Oh, and in other news from the Bolts' No. 30-rated survey, L.A. seems to be in need of a culinary lesson. The Chargers ranked 32nd overall in food taste and food freshness, while only 55 percent of players felt they had enough seating in meal areas (last, again).

Does that bring back high school cafeteria memories for anyone?

Bugs Reported in Bucs' Showers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked 24th overall in this survey, though solid marks for the team's training and strength staffs helped prop up a report card full of cited concerns.

Bucs players described the locker room as "unclean" and "smelly," while bugs were "consistently" seen in the showers. Younger players also relayed complaints about being required to have a roommate while on the road, unless they paid the team more than $1,750 for their own room each season.

"Outdated facilities are one thing, but providing clean showers and workspaces, and not charging players to have their own hotel room on work trips, should be basic standards for a multi-billion-dollar professional sports enterprise," the NFLPA said in its report.

In a statement released on X (formerly Twitter), the Bucs said they "value the NFLPA report and the input from our players that it provides."

Commanders Players Cite Sewage Leaks

Josh Harris is less than a year into owning the Commanders, and the franchise has undergone an overhaul this offseason, so time will tell if new faces can turn around D.C.'s football team. Because this survey indicates that players think there is a lot of work to do.

Washington, which just announced plans for $75 million in stadium and facility upgrades, received either an F or F- in five categories on its league-worst report card. Asked for the No. 1 issue respondents prioritize for fixing, "most players couldn't come up with just one."

Not ideal, to say the least. One issue that hasn't been widely mentioned is what players described as a cleanliness concern, citing "multiple sewage leaks" this season in a locker room considered in the survey to be too small.

The Commanders declined official comment on the survey results.