Each year, the NFL Player's Association (NFLPA) allows players and their families to have their voices heard regarding their experience throughout the NFL season. The results are compiled into a report card, and each organization is graded across various categories, including treatment of families, team travel conditions, and quality of locker room to name a few.
"One of our core jobs as a union is to improve the overall working conditions for our players, which includes the daily experience of players at the team facilities away from the lights and cameras," reads a statement from the NFLPA. "Our goals were to highlight positive clubs, identify areas that could use improvement, and highlight best practices and standards."
The results suggested that the Buccaneers' organization has some work to do, ranking 24th in the NFL and receiving poor marks in several categories.
Buccaneers flunking another NFLPA report card is utterly embarrassing
The Bucs received a "C-" grade for their locker room. While the majority of players reported they felt the locker room was spacious enough, the comments about the cleanliness of the locker room were alarming.
The Bucs' NFLPA report card reads, "The players say the locker room is not clean, constantly smelly and has a persistent bug issue in the showers. They also mention that the sauna is dirty and/or moldy, small and constantly breaking down."
Back in 2013, the Buccaneers' organization became infamous for an MRSA breakout in their locker room that ended several players' careers, so it is downright embarrassing that the organization still hasn't set a higher standard or developed a protocol to maintain cleanliness in the locker room.
The Bucs' organization received an "F" grade for their treatment of families, another score that reflects poorly on the Buccaneers. The team provides gameday childcare, but they charge their players $90 per child. The Los Angeles Chargers are the only other team to charge for childcare, while the rest of the league provides it for free. NFL players sacrifice a lot, both physically and mentally, to produce for their team so it is more than fair for them to expect ownership to provide free childcare on gameday.
The Bucs also received an "F" grade for team travel, and younger players in particular took issue with the fact they did not receive their own hotel rooms for road trips, and would be assigned a roommate instead. If players want their own room, they must pay the team $1750 for the season.
While the $90 daycare cost or the $1750 hotel room fee may seem like pocket change to an NFL player, the real issue lies in the principle. Billionaires like Bucs' owner and co-chairman Joel Glazer should be willing to invest in their team, their families, and the facilities rather than cutting corners. Based on input from players and their families, It is no wonder why the Glazer family scored a "D-" in regards to their willingness to invest in team facilities.
The report card wasn't all bad for the Buccaneers. Head coach Todd Bowles received a "B-" from his players. The strength coaches received an "A-" while the weight room, training staff, and team nutritionist all earned solid "B" grades.
The story of the Buccaneers' NFLPA report card is that the players mostly approve of their coaching staff and training resources, but are seeking much more investment into the players, their families, and the team facilities. The report card did not paint the Buccaneers' ownership in a positive light, and will hopefully serve as a wake-up call for the Glazers to set a higher standard for the organization going forward.