How Chiefs improved their dorm life — thanks to a 2025 training camp upgrade
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs added 180 upgraded mattresses to dorms for 2025 training camp comfort.
- Owner Clark Hunt approved change after trainer emphasized sleep’s importance.
- Players no longer need workarounds like combining beds or bringing their own.
Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt doesn’t need to be told how uncomfortable a residence-hall mattress can be.
He knows that all too well from his times visiting Chiefs training camp on Missouri Western’s campus.
“Something you’ve probably heard the players talk about over the years is how challenging it is to sleep in a dorm room,” Hunt said with a smile Monday. “And I’ll second that, because when I’m here, I sleep in the dorm room.”
That experience, though, has been upgraded this season — a decision that came from Hunt, partly at the request of Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder.
In 2025, the Chiefs partnered with a local furniture rental company, resulting in the delivery of 180 high-quality mattresses in various sizes to the Chiefs’ dorm rooms for both players and staff members. Those mattresses will be returned to the rental company at the end of training camp.
During an interview broadcast to fans who attended a June mandatory minicamp practice, Burkholder said he’d pitched the idea of improved beds to Hunt while emphasizing the significance of high-quality sleep.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve the amenities for our players,” Hunt said. “Certainly, sleep is really important, particularly at training camp.”
The change also has meant that some traditions no longer have to take place.
Some Chiefs players, for example, used to push two beds together at training camp to make a larger sleeping surface. Others would bring their own mattress topper — or even an entire mattress of their own.
Logistically, it might be challenging to partner with the Chiefs to meet their exact needs during the summer. Some coaches require king-size beds, while other staff rooms are smaller and might need twin-sized dimensions to fit the given space.
The Chiefs remain one of six NFL teams that travel away from their facility for training camp. And though some parts of this exercise are meant to be uncomfortable — including coach Andy Reid’s patented “long-drive drill”, in which players must stay on the field for 10-plus consecutive snaps in the summer heat — there appears to be a greater understanding now that not every part of the experience needs to be a grind.
That’s where Hunt landed when he funded better mattresses for his team’s extended stay at training camp.
A decision, by the way, he said he’s already benefited from.
“Having spent a few nights here,” Hunt said, “I’ll say the sleeping is definitely better.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
