The NFLPA (National Football League Players Association) recently released a report card for each team’s facility. The grading was based on the opinions of 1300 players throughout the league.
According to the NFLPA, their goal is to “highlight positive clubs, identify areas that could use improvement, and highlight best practices and standards”.
The Arizona Cardinals in particular were ranked second to last for their facility, with an F ranking in four different categories.
State Farm Stadium received the following grades:
And their summary was even worse. According to the NFLPA, the Cardinals are one of 14 teams that do not offer family care, and one of eleven teams that do not offer daycare.
For the F- grade on food service and nutrition:
“If players would like dinner, it will be boxed up for them, but players reported that the team will charge you via payroll deduction.” “This is apparently the only club that does this.”
“Players reported that if you work out at the facility after the season is over, the team charges you for every meal eaten at the facility (again, apparently the only team in the league that does this).”
Not only are the Cardinals the only team that charges for dinner to be boxed up, but they also charge for offseason meals at the facility.
But it gets even worse.
According to players, walking through the weight room was a safety risk all by itself. Reportedly, the floors are uneven, and the floorboards are peeling up. Additionally, players claim that the weight room feels outdated, these issues made the Cardinals training facility tied for the worst in the league.
And lastly, in the locker room, only 30% of players believe there is enough space, which is dead last in the NFL.
How much truth there is to this statement from the NFLPA is, of course, still up in the air. Neither the Cardinals nor any other team have officially released a statement or mentioned the abysmal summary that they received.
But one thing is certain, the players opinions matter. And these grades are a horrible look on Michael Bidwill, making him look extremely cheap.
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