NFPLA Grades Leaked! Cowboys have poor showing in training, travel

The NFL Players Association's 2026 report cards were supposed to stay a secret, with the league recently blocking the union from releasing to the public the grades given annually by players to their employer clubs in a range of categories. Those grades, the league has argued, violate the collective bargaining agreement by "disparaging NFL clubs and individuals" with published survey results that are "neither reliable nor scientifically valid."

Unsurprisingly, it took almost no time whatsoever for the latest set of grades to be promptly leaked to the media. ESPN on Thursday obtained and published the results of this year's report cards, after converting the grades to numbers and comparing overall GPAs, the Cowboys rank 23rd out of the league's 32 teams. Dallas' most negative categories were training (both room and staff) and travel.

The grades reflect the opinions of the 1,759 players who responded in a survey that was conducted from Nov. 2 to Dec. 11 of the 2025 season.

According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, the league has sent a memo to all 32 teams in response to the leak, asking clubs in part to "refrain from commenting or engaging publicly on the alleged survey and report card results," since "[d]oing so only provides credibility to the union’s media campaign."

The NFL also said in that memo they "will review" the circumstances of the leak.

NFLPA Report Card Grades (as reported today by the great @kalynkahler of ESPN) with GPAs and rankings by category for all 32 teams. https://t.co/qNB9QyZZqWpic.twitter.com/6At9EP5GQm

— Deniz Selman (@denizselman33) February 27, 2026

In the meantime, fans and observers will pore over the report cards just as they have in each of the previous three years. While the grades each team received are available for review, specific criticisms from anonymous players within the various categories have, by and large, not been part of the leak.

Here's how Cowboys players graded the organization in the 17 categories included on this year's report card.

Treatment of Families: B

How players' families are cared for during games is always a hugely important category for players, with amenities like daycare and family rooms at the stadium generally expected. The Cowboys have done well in past years, ranking fourth out of the league's 32 teams in 2023 and 2024. Things appear to have slipped somewhat, with their previous A grade falling to a B for 2025. Only the Raiders and Vikings earned an A this time, but nine other clubs earned a B+, all higher marks than Dallas.

Home Game Field: C

Players in 2025 were asked to grade their home stadium's playing surface for the first time. Seven teams gave their field an A or A-, three teams scored their field an F, and four fields actually earned an F- from the teams that play on them. AT&T Stadium landed in the middle, with a C.

Food/Dining Area: B

This category coves a lot of ground, from quality and freshness of the food served to cafeteria facilities and even how much food is provided to players. The Cowboys tend to hang around in the B neighborhood, right where they are on this report card. That's just mediocre, though; 15 teams were given a higher letter grade than Dallas.

Nutritionist/Dietician: B+

Cowboys players gave the organization a B+ in this category for the second year in a row. But 16 teams- exactly half the league- scored an A or A-, meaning the Cowboys are just middle of the pack again.

Locker Room: B+

Other clubs have clearly caught up to the Cowboys in the quality of their locker room facilities. Dallas ranked second in the league as recently as 2023 in this category. Now nine teams have an A or A- grade, and the Cowboys have dropped to a B+.

Training Room: D

Cowboys players scored their trainers' facilities dead last in the NFL with a D grade, lower than any other team in the league. (Even the notoriously stingy Cardinals saw their training room earn a D+.) It's been a sore spot in Dallas for the past several years; they ranked 26th in 2023 and 27th in 2024. The D here is the lowest grade Cowboys players gave the organization in any of the 17 categories.

Training Staff: C

The Cowboys training staff has not ranked well with players, keeping them consistently in the bottom of the league in the category. After a D+ in 2023, they raised their grade to a C in 2024, but that still ranked just 30th out of 32 teams. For the 2025 season, only San Francisco scored lower (a C-); Green Bay and Kansas City were the only other C grades.

Weight Room: A-

The Cowboys' weight room tends to score high, but so do many others across the NFL. Miami and Las Vegas players gave their weight room A+ marks. Ten teams gave their facilities an A, while Dallas was one of nine teams with an A-, bringing the curve down considerably.

Strength Coaches: A-

Again, high marks across the board in this category; just eight teams gave their strength staffs a B grade. That makes the Cowboys' A- a little less impressive, as 19 teams scored higher with an A+ or an A.

Position Coaches: B

Players graded position coaches for the first time in 2025. The B grade given here by Cowboys players fell in the middle of the league; 14 teams scored their position coaches higher, with some kind of an A grade or a B+.

Offensive Coordinator: A

Coordinators also got grades for the first time on this year's report card. Cowboys players responded well to first-year man Klayton Adams; only three other clubs- the Rams, Patriots, and Seahawks- thought as highly of their OCs.

Defensive Coordinator: C

Defensively, it was a much different story in Dallas. Matt Eberflus earned a C from his players; only the Giants gave their DC a lower grade. (New York fired Shane Bowen during the survey window for these report cards.)

Special Teams Coordinator: B+

Nick Sorensen may not have made a huge splash with Cowboys fans as his special teams units largely underperformed in 2025. But his players gave him a B+. Then again, 24 other clubs also gave their special teams coordinator a grade at least as high.

Team Travel: C

How a team handles travel accommodations tends to make a strong impression on players, with things like airplane seating arrangements and hotel rooms serving as real pain points for many. Only four clubs earned A grades, while seven teams were given D or F grades. Most teams could do better, according to players, including the Cowboys.

Head Coach: A-

Brian Schottenheimer's first year as head coach earned him an A- from his players. But maybe that doesn't mean as much as it would seem; Mike McCarthy was given an A in what turned out to be his final season with the team. Eleven teams gave their head coach a higher grade than Schottenheimer, including Dan Quinn, who received an A+ from his Commanders squad.

General Manager: B

In the first year that GMs got a grade, Jerry Jones earned a B for that part of his job title. Hold the applause, though. Twenty-four others were given either an A of some kind or a B+. Only four general managers were given a grade lower than a B.

Team Ownership: B

Jones the owner received a B last year, too. Despite the "above-average" classification, that grade put him below the midway mark leaguewide. The same holds true on this report card; only nine owners were graded lower than a B in 2025.

Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Leaked report cards show Cowboys grades in bottom half of NFL