New England Patriots working conditions, ownership ripped in NFL players report card
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots are trying to completely revamp the culture of the franchise. But ownership is going to have to take a long look in the mirror after the team was slammed by players in this year's NFLPA report card.
After ranking 24th out of 32 teams last year, the Patriots fell further down the rankings and check in at 29th in 2024. Most of the issues that players have center around the treatment of their families and the condition of the weight room in Foxboro, but there are others. Many others.
Each NFL team was graded in 11 categories for the report card, and the Patriots received an F-minus in the "Treatment of Families" category and an F for their weight room, ranking 32nd in the NFL in the latter. New England received a worse grade in every category except the training room this year.
Patriots get failing grade for "Treatment of Families"
The Patriots are one of six teams that received an F for treatment of families, along with the Bengals, Steelers, Commanders, Chargers, and Buccaneers. New England is one of a dozen teams that do not provide a family room during games, are one of seven teams that do not provide daycare support for players' children on gameday, and one of just four teams that do not offer either a family room or daycare.
Weight room issues continue for Patriots
As for the weight room issues, players don't feel that they have enough space and are unhappy with the lackluster quality of equipment.
"The Patriots are the only team in the NFL with a majority of players feeling that their team's facility is worse than places they could train offsite," the report card notes.
New England's weight room ranked 31st in last year's survey, so it has seemingly gotten worse in the eyes of players.
New England's highest grade was a B-minus, which they received in four categories: Food/Cafeteria, Nutritionist/Dietician, Training Staff, and Head Coach. That head coach was, obviously, Bill Belichick, as players haven't yet played for Jerod Mayo.
While that's a good grade for Belichick, players did have issues with the former head coach. Only 55 percent believed that Belichick was efficient with their time, and they also felt that he was "rarely willing to listen to the locker room."
Pats players not confident Robert Kraft will invest in facilities
Belichick is gone and a new era of Patriots football has been promised by Mayo and Eliot Wolf -- who vowed there'd be a less "hard-ass" vibe -- but it seems like a lot of the improvements will rest on Robert Kraft's shoulders. Patriots ownership received a D-plus grade, as players aren't convinced that he's willing to invest in the team facilities.
"The results point to club management that has not been keeping up with changing times; as in most categories, the player responses highlight outdated facilities and stale services," the record card reads. "The players feel the facility has needed significant renovations for a while now, which explains the low grade for club owner Robert Kraft on the question about players having confidence he will invest in their facilities."
Interestingly enough, the Kansas City Chiefs graded the worst in the ownership category, with Clark Hunt receiving an F-minus. The back-to-back Super Bowl champs received four Fs on their report card this year, and ranked 31st overall, ahead of only the Washington Commanders.
The Patriots are promising a bright future for players and fans alike this offseason. But it looks like ownership is going to have to make a big investment in the team's facilities if they want to keep players -- and their families -- happy going forward.
