Ex-Chiefs star: Fans shouldn’t read too much into team’s bad NFLPA report card

Pete Grathoff
·3 min read
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The Chiefs’ report card from the NFL Players Association would have made Dean Wormer* smirk with delight.

*If you haven’t seen “Animal House,” I’d encourage you to do so

The Chiefs received F grades for the locker room, dietitian and training staff. Ownership was given an F-minus. The Chiefs got an A-plus for coach Andy Reid, but the other 10 categories failed to get even a B grade. The Chiefs players are the ones who hand out the grades.

That’s an ugly report card, but a former Chiefs star said fans shouldn’t read too much into the grades.

“I think some of the NFLPA survey stuff is great, has merit, and needs to come to light for ownership to be shamed into making changes,” former All-Pro tackle Mitchell Schwartz wrote on X. “But I do think some of it is kind of pointless, and it seems to be mostly related to how recently renovated the locker and training rooms are.

“That stuff is easy to compare to newer builds and feel like you don’t have the best accommodations. But those things are not really important in our day to day life and surely don’t lead to on field success. It’s basically the college recruiting arms race come to the NFL.”

Schwartz added that many of the players only know what it’s like to play for the Chiefs and at their facilities.

“People haven’t been elsewhere,” Schwartz wrote. “Most of the things are inconsequential for what day to day life is like, it’s just a comparison to some other teams and how new their stuff is. I don’t put a ton of stock into these unless there’s a legit glaring hole, which I don’t feel exists.”

A fan wondered if new facilities could help the Chiefs sign a big-name free agent, but Schwartz said it’s not like that in the NFL. He said money and a winning culture are much more important.

“Not one NFL FA is choosing a team based on new practice facility lockers and more efficient hot/cold tub setups,” Schwartz wrote.

He added: “If the money is even then it comes down to personal preference between: recent success, coaching staff, city, friends on the team. At no point does the quality of the locker room decide where a FA goes.”