By releasing a report from players, the NFLPA has put pressure on NFL owners to improve their team facilities, the place where players spend most of their time, as well as other elements to their work life. So when the Cleveland Browns reported stadium plans came out, it wasn't a surprise to see as yet undisclosed details about how the team plans to improve CrossCountry Mortage Campus in Berea.
NFLPA President J.C. Tretter has been working a number of angles that have nothing to do with negotiating a collective bargaining agreement to gain ground for players. Most recently, they released a report asking player to grade teams on eight different factors ranging from the weight room to nutrition to how their families are treated.
The devil is in the details. If players simply came out and said NFL facilities were substandard, it could be dismissed as players are coming from colleges with state of the art everything and luxurious add-ons like smoothie bars, barber shops and lazy rivers. For them, it's all about recruiting and also incentivizes players to stay at the facility as long as possible. But the specificity of the NFLAPA report is relatable for anyone, especially when it comes to how these multi-billion dollar organizations don't have the means to give a mother a place to nurse her baby.
The Browns finished 21st overall in these rankings. They largely did well in terms of personnel. Their strength coaches and trainers received high marks and their training room is in the top five. But, as the report points out, the Browns don't have a weight room. They use a section of the practice field for it. It gets the job done, but that part of the field could be used for other things, notably practice.
Nutrition also fares poorly and they received Cs for family treatment and travel These are areas where the team or more specifically ownership could simply be ignorant of the situation. They may feel they are doing great and this helps them understand what else needs to be done.
All of this taps into two key elements for NFL teams. First, shame. The Browns aren't really in that category but there are plenty of teams that should've been embarrassed by their evaluations. The second is competition. Recruiting is absolutely a factor in the NFL and having top of the line facilities can help make the difference between getting a player and seeing him sign with a division foe.
There is always a sense that players want to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Much of that is ascribed to the brand as America's team and the sheer amount of exposure they get, which is undoubtedly a factor, but they are also top of the line when it comes to their facilities, staff and support. It's a competitive advantage. The Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks also stand out in this polling.
Included in that report was polling about confidence that owners would work to improve the issues they've noted. The Browns were one of six teams that finished with a perfect score.
It's certainly better to be at the top of this chart than the bottom, but it does demand action from ownership to follow through on it. It's possible, even likely that the Haslams were well into the planning stages of how to improve their facilities before this polling was done.
For example, the Haslams have made significant investments in player development off the field as well as on it. Ron Brewer, their head of player engagement has spearheaded a number of initiatives to make players feel like they have value beyond the field. Not only are they focused on the mental health of players and giving them a trusted outlet, they have worked to improve financial literacy and help them pursue goals after football. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be surprising if the prospective improvements don't have a specific eye towards areas where the team fared poorly in the NFLPA report.
There's already evidence teams are looking at these grades. Even though the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl. they graded poorly, ranking 29th in this poll. Owner Clark Hunt was asked about the report at the owners meeting. He told The Athletic, “You’re always disappointed when an evaluation comes out and you’re not high. As we looked at it, and then talking to Andy, he felt like there were some reasons on some of the things that were mentioned from a football standpoint. I think surveys like that are also positive because maybe they show you some blind spots. You can always learn from them.”
When the Browns unveil their plans for upgrades to CrossCountry Campus, it will be interesting to see if they are asked about the areas they graded poorly in the NFLPA's polling. The team may want to bring it up themselves since their low ranking isn't going to sit well with ownership. In the event the Browns are able to build a top of the line facility, the Haslams will get the lion's share of the credit but players will owe some thanks to their former center and current NFLPA President J.C. Tretter.
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