As the NFL won its grievances against the NFL Players Association, it has effectively immediately banned the union from publishing report cards grading the franchise management in the future. This decision has irked many fans who are calling out the league online.

But why does it matter so much? Well, these report cards created transparency about the franchise’s functioning of various factors.

“There were a bunch of NFL teams who made improvements to their working conditions, facilities, locker rooms, family treatment, etc., after these report cards were released, which essentially publicly shamed owners if conditions were bad, or publicly praised owners who were doing things the right way,” as Ari Meirov’s Friday post explained it well. 

But these reports are cancelled after “an arbitrator determined that the NFLPA’s conduct violated the CBA.”

After the News Broke Out, Fans Flooded Merivo’s Comment Section to Criticise Franchise Owners

One fan wrote, “NFL owners would rather kill transparency than spend money on basic working conditions and the players union just lost their only leverage absolutely pathetic.”

The NFLPA report card was created based on players’ grievances and feedback for their franchise. These surveys were conducted anonymously, and last year, over 1,700 players chimed in. 

The Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings ranked at the top for the third year straight. And after ranking at the bottom last year, the Arizona Cardinals made huge improvements and were graded an A this time. 

Which was not missed as a fan pointed out, “The Falcons being one of the teams who took action after having been exposed.”

“Nothing lights a fire under cheap owners like seeing their stadium ranked dead last in “family treatment” while getting ratio’d nationwide. Shame worked… until it didn’t. RIP to the public spanking era. Owners sleep better now,” one fan reacted angrily at franchise owners for silencing their players’ voices.

Two X users pointed out that with this report card gone, the franchise management no longer has to make efforts, as they were left scrambling to fix any damage. 

“The report cards were public accountability for the owners, so naturally, they'd want to get rid of it,” one commented, which was followed by a reply poking fun at the owners.

“Those National Football League Players Association report cards had billionaires acting like students before finals.”

This frustration with the league is understandable. And NFL fans are raging against the league for ignoring player well-being.

Do you think this was a fair judgment? Comment your thoughts and follow the Cleveland Browns Community for more.

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Joyita Das