J.J. Watt Upset With NFL's Change on Friday

Players anonymously rated everything from training facilities to how organizations treated families, creating public scorecards that some owners welcomed and others clearly disliked. While certain teams used the feedback to improve, critics questioned the process and pushed back against its credibility.

Former star J.J. Watt jumped into the debate almost immediately, posting a blunt reaction that summed up the frustration many felt: “NFL won’t let actual players grade the workplace they attend every single day, but they’ll allow a 3rd party ‘grading’ service to display their ‘rankings’ of players on national television every Sunday night…” 

His comment quickly spread, not just because of who said it, but because it highlighted a contradiction that fans could instantly understand.

The spark behind the outrage was the NFL winning a grievance against the NFLPA, effectively shutting down the current version of the report cards. The league says the issue was about methodology and fairness, but critics argue it removes one of the few public accountability tools available to players.

With talk of longer seasons and future labor negotiations already on the horizon, this debate feels bigger than a single ruling. The report cards may be gone for now, but the question they raised who gets a voice in shaping the NFL workplace isn’t disappearing anytime soon.