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Sarah Barshop
AFTER HOME GAMES for the primary 5 seasons of Jessie Bates III‘s profession, the previous Cincinnati Bengals security needed to go away the stadium to search out his household.
Now in Atlanta, Bates meets his household in a collection within the Mercedes-Benz Dome after dwelling video games, the place there’s meals and a spot “our households can be capable to join on a distinct degree.”
“I believe that is what separates us in comparison with lots of different organizations,” Bates stated.
It is the type of delicate distinction that may matter loads to NFL gamers.
In February, when the NFL Gamers Affiliation launched their annual report playing cards, the Bengals acquired the bottom rating — an F-minus — within the “therapy of households” class. The Falcons acquired an A, the second-highest grade.
The report playing cards are primarily based on a survey of 1,695 gamers throughout the league, administered from August 26 to November 20, 2024 and consists of grades on every thing from head coach to group journey and the locker room. In accordance with the NFLPA, solutions had been collected anonymously.
ESPN spoke with gamers about how they outline “therapy of households” and the suggestions that serves as the premise for the NFLPA’s grades.
A number of present Bengals gamers, who had been granted anonymity to talk freely on the topic, referenced the shortage of gameday facilities accessible to them and the way tough that may make it on their households.
One participant famous that one other AFC group had an indoor cookout-style assembly space within the stadium postgame. Up till final 12 months, when the Bengals added a postgame space contained in the stadium for households to fulfill, that they had an outside space beneath a big white tent roughly 20 yards away from the gamers’ parking zone.
One participant described the tent as a “s–t present,” particularly when it was chilly.
One other veteran identified that one of many main points for his group on gameday is the shortage of a devoted space for households when it comes to bogs and concessions. Many occasions, households are consistently ready in lengthy traces for each of these issues, which for gamers with younger youngsters — and a sport performed by younger males means a major variety of NFL gamers who’re fathers have younger youngsters — brings stress and safety considerations.
“Simply various things the place they will make it extra handy for our households, particularly when the husband’s not there,” the veteran stated to ESPN. “We’re fearful about them. I believe it could be simpler for us if we had sure issues for households, we do not have to fret about it.”
And whereas the significance of the surveys varies from group to group, some groups, just like the Minnesota Vikings, imagine the NFLPA survey — and notably the assessments of how the group treats households — has been key to the back-to-back monster free agent lessons they signed in 2024 and 2025.
Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom, who’s an NFLPA participant rep, stated earlier than the report playing cards had been achieved — the primary was printed in 2023 — when gamers had been going by way of the free company course of, they needed to attempt to name round to different gamers they knew to get a really feel for the professionals and cons of every franchise.
“The survey has had a serious affect,” 2025 Vikings free agent signing Ryan Kelly stated. “Since you’re a man on the lookout for a brand new dwelling, you have bought children, you’ve a household. It is like, ‘what is the therapy like?’ For those who deal with my household nicely, I will be happier as an individual, I will be happier as a participant, I will be in a greater temper, and we’ll most likely have extra success.”
Kelly spent his first 9 seasons with the Colts, a group that was middle-of-the-pack with a B-minus rating for therapy of households in the latest survey.
And though it’s early in his Vikings profession, it did not take Kelly lengthy to really feel just like the survey outcomes he had seen had been correct.
“Being solely there for just a little over 24 hours [to sign his FA contract], we felt that as my total household was there,” Kelly stated. “It did not matter if it was my mother or my dad or my children or a nanny, all people felt the love and that goes to indicate you it is a particular place.”
IN THE MIDDLE of a busy season, Vikings operating again Aaron Jones appreciates that the group’s assist employees can and can deal with sure wants for a participant’s household.
On Tuesday or Wednesday of every week, Vikings assist employees will ask gamers if they’ve household touring to the sport. In the event that they do, employees will ask what number of tickets they want and whether or not the household requires resort lodging. Gamers can select to pay straight or have the associated fee deducted from their paychecks.
“It simply makes it that a lot simpler,” Jones stated. “Your loved ones’s not, ‘Hey, I am looking for a spot to remain. The place are you guys staying? What is the closest resort?’ It simply takes all of that away.”
The Vikings assist employees will deal with every thing to make “positive your loved ones’s taken care of,” Jones stated, “from directing the households into the sport to serving to them get seated to sideline passes.”
“It’s no stress, simply because I do know they’re in good arms,” Jones stated.
The other is true for the Jacksonville Jaguars, in line with a veteran Jaguars participant who requested for anonymity. Jacksonville scored an F for therapy of households on the report card, which was the second-lowest grade.
“I do know we’re imagined to be those to inform our household sure issues, however when there’s 30 different issues that us as gamers have to fret about after which we inform our household [information] on the final minute, issues can get miscommunicated within the data,” the participant stated. “When now we have to [be the person] to offer them the tickets or [be the person] to offer all of them this stuff, [stuff] occurs, you understand what I imply?
The participant continued: “I need to ensure that my household is OK so I haven’t got to fret about them. [Sometimes] these safety guards ain’t letting my rattling spouse in. I’ve bought to fret about that or we have got to name [a team rep] to deal with this. It should not [happen]. Household must be already taken care of. They need to be an extension of a participant in sure areas.”
ON GAME DAY, Jones is aware of his children — he has a one-and-a-half-year-old and a five-year-old — shall be having enjoyable. The operating again stated whereas his oldest may be very into the sport, the Vikings do such a very good job at their daycare throughout halftime — with every thing from face portray to a petting zoo and different actions to maintain the youngsters engaged — that “he does not need to come again [for the second half].”
The Bengals should not have youngster care accessible throughout video games, one in every of three groups that doesn’t present that choice, in line with the NFLPA survey.
“It is arduous for teenagers to get by way of a full sport,” a Bengals participant instructed ESPN. “Clearly, your loved ones needs to come back assist. My [kids] are sufficiently old to the place they assume it is cool nevertheless it’s additionally like loads. I believe that [child care] might be superior.”
In accordance with a number of gamers, plans are in place for Cincinnati to implement youngster take care of 2025 dwelling video games, which might enhance their rating. However one participant famous that it took three consecutive years of failing grades on the NFLPA survey for the Bengals to doubtlessly add the service.
What’s extra perplexing is that the Bengals are some of the outstanding family-run organizations in skilled sports activities, with three generations of the Brown household working the franchise based by Paul Brown, the daddy of present group president Mike Brown.
Regardless of this, one participant indicated to ESPN that the group does a poor job of integrating households into not simply the gameday expertise however different occasions all through the common season.
“Is not it nice that your daughters and your granddaughters are at work with you?” one participant instructed ESPN. “After which now we have to go within the parking zone to see our household within the rain? Yeah, it sucks.”
Brown’s daughter and Bengals government vice chairman Katie Blackburn addressed the survey on the NFL’s league assembly within the spring saying, “We’re all the time pleased to speak to gamers about points they could have. I focus extra on suggestions from our gamers, [coach] Zac [Taylor]. F-minus is just a little harsh. It does not actually offend me. If there’s one thing they need us to have a look at, we are able to take that message and construct on it and have a look and see if there are issues that we’d be capable to do to make individuals really feel higher. We’re definitely open to that.”
The Dallas Cowboys present youngster care on sport days, however the enjoyable begins earlier than that. The day earlier than a Sunday sport at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys host gamers’ households for lunch, bringing in issues like ice cream vans and low vans. The Cowboys name it FIT, or household ice cream time, which permits “time for our vital others to be up right here round one another,” Cowboys proper deal with Terence Steele stated.
“Which means loads,” Steele stated.
Falcons group president Greg Beadles stated Atlanta has month-to-month household dinners on the facility and hosted a Halloween trick-or-treat final 12 months for gamers’ children.
Whereas the Jaguars acquired a poor grade primarily based on the 2024 surveys — Jaguars gamers voiced within the report playing cards that they need a household room accessible throughout video games “so their households can escape the warmth and permit moms to alter/nurse infants” — new head coach Liam Coen, who has two younger sons, made household involvement a precedence in the course of the spring.
“He is achieved a hell of a job on doing much more household stuff, particularly this early on,” the participant stated. “I do know he speaks about how he was raised within the locker room within the amenities, and I would like my children to do the identical factor. And so now even throughout OTAs, each Thursday he is doing household day. Our households can come and watch our follow and we are able to hang around with our household for lunch and stuff, too. So he is having much more family-orientated issues, which is superior.”
AFTER HOME GAMES, Cowboys particular groups ace C.J. Goodwin, the second-longest tenured Cowboy, is aware of the place his household shall be: the Landry Room. Named after the Cowboys Corridor of Fame coach, it is a non-public membership space inside AT&T Stadium. Every participant will get two free tickets to the world, which incorporates meals, drinks and “something you need.”
Cowboys gamers rated the post-game household space 9.05 out of 10, rating them second out of 32 groups.
A veteran Jaguars participant, who requested for anonymity, stated he would love a devoted, safe inside space for households to fulfill up after the sport. Final 12 months, for instance, the house was a tent outdoors the gamers’ entrance to the EverBank Stadium locker room.
The Cleveland Browns should not have a post-game spot to assemble contained in the stadium after dwelling video games. The Browns acquired a D-plus in therapy of households, the fifth-worst grade in that class.
The report playing cards famous that the Browns gamers surveyed “imagine that the coaches’ households are handled higher than gamers’ households,” as “the coaches’ households have a post-game meet up contained in the stadium, whereas the gamers’ households meet in a tent within the parking zone.” In accordance with the group, the tent is heated and the group spends round $200,000 on the house.
Browns left guard Joel Bitonio, the longest tenured member of the Browns, stated he does assume “there was enhancements so far as households go.”
“I believe it is virtually like a logistical factor in our stadium,” Bitonio stated concerning the downtown lakefront stadium that opened in 1999. “There’s groups just like the Raiders, the Vikings, the Cowboys, they’ll have devoted areas the place after the sport, you possibly can meet up with your loved ones, your mates. They’ve meals for them contained in the stadium, the place we’re type of throughout the road within the parking zone.
“It will get chilly in Cleveland and there is a little tent there the place you possibly can meet up with them for 5 minutes. However it’s type of a thrown-together phase. I believe the gamers simply wished one thing [with] just a little more room and just a little extra time.”
The Browns say that they’ve been eliciting suggestions from gamers on concepts for a household room as they transfer ahead with their plans to construct a $2.4 billion domed stadium in Brookpark, a Cleveland suburb.
SPEAKING WHILE WATCHING his group follow in Maui final week, Los Angeles Rams group president Kevin Demoff stated holding minicamp in Hawaii — and welcoming gamers to convey alongside their households or vital others — was not a response to the group’s poor NFLPA report card.
The Rams, who ranked thirtieth of thirty second groups within the therapy of households class final season, had already deliberate this journey when the report playing cards got here out, Demoff stated.
“There’s nothing we ever do this’s primarily based on the NFLPA surveys,” Demoff stated. “We all the time do what we expect is finest for our group, our gamers and their households. I believe if you happen to wished to make this an ideal journey for them, that they had to have the ability to convey their households and have that chance open to them.
“I’ve cherished getting to observe our soccer operations employees household work together with participant households in ways in which by no means actually occurred. The genuine collisions that occurred within the resort foyer and other people going out to dinner or enjoying golf and doing these issues, watching the households plant timber yesterday collectively in Wailea. These are all particular moments that convey the complete group collectively. Doing it since you would possibly do higher in a survey could be a backwards outcome, I believe, from what we’re all making an attempt to attain.”
However some groups are undoubtedly guided by the surveys. A Jaguars official stated they listened to participant considerations over the shortage of entry sideline passes to allow them to see their households pregame, and so they have options in place for 2025. Pre-game sideline passes are actually accessible, and gamers and their households will collect postgame within the cafeteria of the group’s soccer facility adjoining to EverBank Stadium.
“We worth all our gamers and their households,” the official stated.
Like others throughout the league, the veteran Jaguars participant additionally talked concerning the significance of with the ability to depend on somebody on employees to assist with communication [such as ticket information], organizing household occasions, and ensuring issues run easily on sport days for the households. That might take a load off the gamers’ minds and get rid of some distractions, he stated.
The veteran participant acknowledged a few of the points he talked about are associated to the present stadium, which is scheduled to endure a $1.4 billion renovation over the subsequent three seasons. The group must play its dwelling video games elsewhere in 2027 — seemingly Orlando — and that may current a problem on sport days for households, however Jaguars officers say areas for gamers/households on sport days shall be among the many main upgrades from the present stadium when it reopens in 2028.
Bitonio stated he thinks the report playing cards have “achieved a very good job in Cleveland,” pointing to the brand new weight room the Haslam household put in.
Whereas Demoff stated he appreciates the suggestions from gamers by way of the survey, he referred to as the report playing cards “just a little little bit of a double-edged sword.” Together with serving because the Rams’ group president, Demoff oversees the operations of all Kroenke Sports activities and Leisure groups, together with the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL) and Colorado Rapids (MLS). Demoff stated no different league’s gamers affiliation at present produces related report playing cards.
“I want we knew the questions and the information, as a result of we solely see the grades,” Demoff stated. “We do not get an opportunity to see the questions that had been requested. So now we have to go replicate these questions — good or unhealthy — to our gamers and discover out, ‘Hey, what was the problem on this specific merchandise?’
The NFLPA doesn’t share what number of gamers voted for every group.
“I do assume it could be useful if there was a extra clear sharing of the questions and of the information in order that we did not need to go and guess as to ‘this is what the problem might need been,'” Demoff stated. “Not every thing I believe is as sensational because it’s made out. However I believe if there’s actually a purpose to make it a real partnership, we’ll be capable to share the information extra.”
In accordance with an NFLPA spokesperson, the NFL has instructed the gamers affiliation to not focus on the report playing cards straight with particular person groups.
“We acknowledge that context and background are important to understanding the outcomes of this challenge that serves to enhance working environments for our participant members,” an NFLPA spokesperson stated. “We’re keen to have interaction in significant conversations with any membership taken with discussing their suggestions. Nevertheless, the league has instructed us to chorus from initiating any direct conversations with particular person golf equipment on this matter.
“If a membership want to communicate with us straight, we encourage them to contact the league workplace to request permission. We’d welcome the chance to have these conversations.”
Todd Archer, Ben Child, Michael DiRocco, Daniel Oyefusi, Marc Raimondi and Kevin Seifert contributed to this story.
