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New York Jets owner Woody Johnson received an F grade from his own players during the NFL Players Association's annual team report cards.
Johnson, 77, was the only NFL owner to receive an F from his own players, while the Jets ranked 29th overall in 11 categories in 2025, dropping eight spots from their 21st overall ranking in 2024, ESPN reports. The Jets players "cite perceived top leadership issues, with some describing issues as 'top-down problems,'" according to the NFLPA, which acknowledged that Jets ownership had dropped from a B- grade to an F in one year, with Johnson receiving the lowest score for contributing to a positive team culture.
"Rather than addressing concerns, players believed that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse," the NFLPA said via ESPN.
The Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins both earned top grades for the second consecutive year. The league also saw an overall improvement from the previous year, with a 41% increase in areas earning an A-minus or higher and a 51% decrease in areas scoring D-plus or lower, while the average grades of the bottom five teams -- the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals -- all improved from a D-plus to a C-minus.
"We really like the players to have a voice on their facilities, their working conditions, their likes, dislikes," NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell said via ESPN. "... The report card really provided an opportunity to see the entire landscape. One of the objectives was to inform our guys, and we're well on our way to doing a better job with that. Number two was to effect change. Just in my short tenure of being executive director, I've seen new locker rooms, new weight rooms, addressing family situations in terms of childcare. It's not universal, but certainly got the attention of the front office, the owners, coaches, trainers, and the like.
"... I think what initially may have seemed as a shame campaign, it's really how do we improve the working conditions for our guys. And it effects improvement."