Why Chiefs’ grades ‘improved’ in NFLPA report card — with a few notable exceptions
The Kansas City Chiefs did not grade well Wednesday compared to their peers in the latest NFLPA team report cards.
However, NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter told The Star that one needs to look beyond KC’s ranking of 26th out of 32 NFL teams.
“I think they improved,” said Tretter, who was highly critical of the Chiefs’ lack of progress following the grades’ release a year ago. “I don’t think their ranking made a giant jump, but their overall score did.”
The Chiefs’ final report card does contain some familiar complaints. And the team has historically scored low in the annual grades, ranking 29th, 31st and 26th in the survey’s first three years.
Tretter, though, says all NFL team grades have gone up over that time as owners and teams have sought upgrades.
“So as other teams make huge jumps, even though the Chiefs are making improvements,” Tretter said, “it doesn’t always show up (comparatively).”
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and team president Mark Donovan met with a Chiefs player leadership council last season to review potential improvements.
KC made significant progress — while singled out positively by the NFLPA during its annual meeting with reporters at the combine — in two specific areas.
For one, the Chiefs hired full-time dietitian Nicolette Mense after receiving an F grade last season. That mark improved to an A-minus in 2025.
Similarly, KC was dinged with a D-plus in 2024 for treatment of families while not providing on-site game-day daycare for families. The Chiefs added this on-site amenity last season, and improved to a B-plus.
Another highlight: KC’s training staff rated a C this year, much better than the D-minus and F from the previous two seasons.
Tretter said he appreciated the Chiefs taking steps to address issues that were inexpensive but resonated with players.
“All these areas are more soft skills that any organization can do,” Tretter said, “and we’re seeing the Chiefs do that, which is good.”
The Chiefs had only one grade below a “C,” and it was a familiar complaint: the locker room.
KC’s facility there graded at a D-minus, which sat 28th out of 32 teams. The Chiefs practice-field locker room — located at the team’s main facility — has not been upgraded recently like the team’s clubhouse at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium has.
Players similarly complained about a lack of space in the weight room, which ranked 30th out of 32 teams.
The Chiefs are currently analyzing long-term options for their facility, which could potentially be in the same location or elsewhere in the KC metro area.
Wednesday’s survey also revealed another main gripe from Chiefs players: the team hotel for home games.
According to the report, KC’s players rated the facility as “below standard.“ They said the beds were uncomfortable, the floors were dirty and sticky, and some rooms had leftover trash from previous occupants.
As a result, the Chiefs’ home-game hotel was scored as the lowest in the NFL.
Tretter said the Chiefs’ grade there could also be impacted by the fact that some teams were pivoting with their pregame arrangements. Baltimore, for instance, allows some of its veteran players to stay at their own houses the night before home games.
“So it’s one, ‘We’re forcing you to stay at a hotel, and then we’re putting you in a hotel where you feel uncomfortable taking your shoes off.’ I think guys somewhat vibrate on that, like, ‘This kind of sucks,’” Tretter said. “They’re making you stay here, and I don’t feel comfortable in the cleanliness of it. So that stood out there as an area of improvement.”
The NFLPA expanded its questions about ownership this year. Hunt earned a C-minus grade, which was 26th out of 32 owners. He ranked 26th in perceived willingness to invest in facilities, 20th in contributing to a positive team culture, and 17th in commitment to building a competitive team.
For the second straight year, coach Andy Reid received an A-plus grade from the players. His overall score among coaches moved from first to fourth.
The NFLPA’s data comes from 1,695 surveys given between Aug. 26 and Nov. 20, 2024. An average of 52 players per team took part.
Overall, grades have continued to improve over time. NFL teams combined for just 32 Ds and below this year after there were 65 last season.
That sort of raising of the bar, Tretter says, should be considered when evaluating the Chiefs’ scores.
“Are they in the top 5? No,” Tretter said. “But what I’m seeing looking at the numbers is there are sizable improvements in the areas that are easy to make improvements in.”
