NFL wins grievance against NFLPA report cards

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 04: A detailed view of the NFL logo on the field during the NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers on January 4, 2026 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

NFL Players Association report cards have long been a fixture of the offseason, with teams being assigned letter grades on various amenities and organizational aspects each year by the players' union.

However, in a league memo released by ESPN's Adam Schefter Friday, the NFL announced it won a grievance against the NFLPA regarding the report guards, with an arbitrator determining that the reports violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Moving forward, the report cards as we know them have been stopped, as have the public release of the NFLPA's grades.

Sources: The NFL informed all 32 teams today in a memo that it prevailed in its grievance vs. the NFLPA and its team report cards."An arbitrator determined that the NFLPA's conduct violated the CBA and ordered it to stop making public any future report cards. pic.twitter.com/mss5WUQjhF

- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 13, 2026

In the memo, the NFL states that the NFLPA's witness and counsel decided that the report cards were heavily curated by the union with cherry-picked" topics and responses, and no player involvement in the drafting and commentary.

The record established that the Report Cards were designed by the union to advance its interest under the guise of a scientific exercise," the memo reads.

Still, it concludes by saying the NFL Management Council will work with the NFLPA to create a new survey in the coming seasons.

However, the NFLPA released its own statement, saying that although the public grades will be going away, the arbitrator found the report cards to be fair and balanced. It also stated the report card program will not be going away.

The NFLPA announced in a statement that they will continue to do report cards with players, but they'll keep those results away from the public. https://t.co/OhQ8KoUrVRpic.twitter.com/i897EUjwyW

- Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 13, 2026

ESPN reported in November that Jets owner Woody Johnson took issue with the survey when the NFL first filed the grievance.

In 2025, the Steelers received poor grades on the survey, including D" grades for ownership and locker room, and C-" grades for treatment of families and strength coaches. Pittsburgh's lone A" grade was for its head coach, who at the time was Mike Tomlin.

While the NFL and NFLPA continue to duel over the narrative following the arbitrator's ruling, it appears some sort of player survey will still be completed in the future, although public access to the results won't be as available moving forward.