The NFLPA report cards weren’t supposed to be available to the public this year, but they got leaked out anyway, so we’re going to break them down and we’re going to focus on the owners. One of the most interesting parts of the grading system is that it allows each player to anonymously rate their owner, which gives us an idea of how well the person at the top of the organization relates to the players on the field.
The NFLPA had 1,759 players rate their team in 17 different categories, including ownership. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how each owner graded out (The survey was taken Nov. 2 through Dec. 11, so the 2025 season wasn’t yet complete when players handed out their grades).
Grade: A+
Teams: Broncos (Walton-Penner family), Vikings (Wilf family), Commanders (Josh Harris)
Notes: The last two NFL teams to be sold were the Broncos (August 2022) and Commanders (July 2023) and the two new ownership groups have clearly set a high bar. The two teams have been successful both on and off the field with the Commanders reaching the NFC title game in 2024 while the Broncos got to the AFC title game in 2025. The group that ends up buying the Seahawks are going to have a lot of pressure on them to live up to the standard what Washington and Denver have set.
The Vikings also deserve some credit for being here. In the three years that players have been allowed to evaluate their owner, the Vikings are the only team that has scored an A+ each time.
Grade: A
Teams: Falcons (Arthur Blank), Lions (Sheila Ford Hamp), Texans (Cal McNair), Colts (Carlie Irsay-Gordon), Jaguars (Shad Khan), Raiders (Mark Davis), Dolphins (Stephen Ross), Seahawks (Jody Allen)
Notes: The Seahawks made the biggest jump here. Last year, the ownership group was given a C+, but this year, Jody Allen was graded out with an A. However, Allen won’t be around much longer because the Seahawks are in the process of selling the team. Player treatment definitely goes a long way and the Raiders and Dolphins are proof of that. The Dolphins haven’t won a playoff game since 2000 and the Raiders haven’t won one since 2002, but both Stephen Ross and Mark Davis scored well here.
Grade: A-
Teams: Ravens (Steve Bisciotti), Bills (Terry Peguala), Bears (McCaskey family), Packers (Publicly owned), Chargers (Dean Spanos), Saints (Gayle Benson), 49ers (York family)
Notes: The Packers are the NFL’s only publicly owned team and it seems the public is doing a good job, because Green Bay earned one of the highest grades in the NFL. It may surprise some fans that the Chargers are ranked this high, but the team has shown a willingness to invest in facilities and that’s one thing that players love. The Chargers just opened a new $250 million practice facility back in July 2024.
Grade: B
Teams: Cowboys (Jerry Jones), Rams (Stan Kroenke), Jets (Woody Johnson), Eagles (Jeff Lurie), Giants (John Mara, Steve Tisch)
Notes: There are a lot of factors involved when a player grades their owner and it’s not all about winning championships, which is pretty clear here with Jones and Johnson both earning a B. The Jets haven’t been to the playoffs since 2010, but players seem happy with the job Johnson is doing. The Jets owner got an F last year, so moving up to a B was a big bump for him. He clearly showed that he was willing to improve on whatever issues his players had.
The big difference between the five teams in this group is that Giants players didn’t love their general manager situation. Joe Schoen was given a D+ while every other team, even the Cowboys, earned at least a B for the general manager category.
Grade: B-
Teams: Panthers (David Tepper), Patriots (Robert Kraft)
Notes: It might be a surprise to see the Patriots here, but this is actually an improvement compared to last year. Last February, Kraft was given a D with one of the biggest reasons for that grade being that players didn’t feel like he was trying to build a competitive team. After a Super Bowl appearance this year, it’s probably safe to say that the players now feel differently.
Worst grades
We’re going to lump the final eight owners together since they all scored in the C range or lower.
Notes: There are several surprises here. The Chiefs have been to three of the past four Super Bowls, but the players in Kansas City still don’t seemed to be thrilled with the team’s ownership group. The biggest issue for players last year was that they didn’t feel like the Hunts were investing enough in the team facilities. If the Chiefs get a new stadium, that will likely include some new facilities, so upgrades could soon becoming to Kansas City. Getting a C+ is actually a huge step up for the Chiefs after earning an F- on the first ownership report card two years ago.
Another team that graded out poorly was the Steelers. The Rooney family earned the second-lowest grade, just barely finishing ahead of the Cardinals. The Steelers are viewed as a blue blood organization in the NFL, but the Rooneys haven’t done a good job of keeping the players happy. Last year, Steelers players gave the team a D, so things actually got worse this year. It’s a somewhat surprising grade for a team that’s viewed as a model franchise in the NFL.
As for the Cardinals, the NFLPA has been grading the owners for three years now and Arizona is the only team that has been given an F in at least two of those three years. Getting the only F is a bad look, so Bidwill might want to try and figure out what he needs to do to improve his grade for next year.
One interesting thing about the report cards is that they almost didn’t come out this year. The NFL filed a grievance against the NFLPA over the report cards back in August and the league actually won. Due to victory, the ruling stated that the results of the report cards would no longer be made public, but they still leaked out anyway.
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