It’s report card season.
The grades are in and the players have spoken.
The NFLPA released its annual report card on Wednesday afternoon to the delight and dismay of certain teams.
The report card is made up of various survey conducted by 1,695 players across all 32 teams grading 11 different categories about the organization they play for.
The 11 categories consist of treatment of families, food/cafeteria, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and owner.
The report card helps shine a light on specific organizational shortcomings and practices.
No one is safe from the report card, not even owners who are worth $3.4 billion.
Looking at you Woody Johnson.
The New York Jets owner received an ‘F grade’.
He was the only owner to receive such a grade.
Johnson ranked last in willingness to invest in facilities, last in contributing to a positive team culture and second-to-last in committing to build a competitive team.
Overall, the Jets ranked 29th out of the 32 teams.
The Jets report was a blistering indictment on Johnson and his leadership.
“Rather than addressing concerns, players believed that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse,” the report read.
“For example, after receiving low grades for their food program last year, players felt the team cut the food budget and did not retain their long-time dietitian, who was previously their highest-rated staff member.
“Notably, that former dietitian took a full-time role with the Kansas City Chiefs, contributing to significant improvements in their food program and dietitian grades.”
The dysfunction in and around the Jets organization starts at the top with Johnson and has seemingly trickled all the way down.
“They talked about the culture – it’s a problem, top down,” NFLPA chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter said of the Jets player’s response.
“[They said,] ‘It’s a culture of fear here.’ And I think that stood out in those grades.”
The Jets finished the season with a disappointing 5-12 record behind the arm of an old and clearly in decline, Aaron Rodgers.
The two year Rodgers experiment was an abject failure for New York.
The two sides decided to part ways this offseason.
Johnson and Gang Green are owners of the longest active postseason drought among America’s four biggest professional sports leagues, sitting at 14 seasons.
It’s been a long time since the franchise has sniffed even an iota of success.
There are more questions than answers for those on One Jets Drive, but what’s clear, is that Johnson’s own players believe he is the worst owner in the sport.
It doesn’t get much worse for Johnson.
That is of course unless he receives an F- next year.
Yes, those do exist.
