No big stink: Odors aside, player surveys show locker rooms are improving

INDIANAPOLIS — In the third year of the NFL players union’s workplace survey, the severity of concerns has decreased.

“There are no more major hazards that stand out,” NFL chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter said.

Players did not complain of rats, dirty water or shower bugs as they had in the survey’s first two iterations. But at least five clubs cited bathroom-related conditions on their list of locker-room concerns.

Ongoing plumbing problems plague the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to at least a third of each team’s players. The Buccaneers drew the most sweeping concerns, with “persistent bad odors” as 44% of players reported ongoing plumbing issues.

The San Francisco 49ers noted their showers frequently break while the Atlanta Falcons had concerns about ventilation.

The Falcons overwhelmingly received high grades for their workplace conditions, including an overall improvement from the 25th-most satisfied team to the third most. But even as they praised the spacious locker rooms and awarded the renovated space an “A+,” players hope the club can improve ventilation in the locker room bathrooms to counter complaints of a persistent bad odor.

“I think that’s fairly fixable,” Tretter said. “There are things you can improve on that you don't need a ton of money to improve on. We're talking about $70,000 investments here and there that make a huge difference."

The locker rooms with plumbing issues did not always correlate with the lowest-graded locker rooms, as the survey prompt judged overall locker room satisfaction based on the space and functionality rather than the water functions.

The Falcons received an A+ for their locker room grade, the Cowboys an A, the 49ers a B, the Buccaneers a C and the Commanders an F.

The Commanders’ F reflected the second-lowest satisfaction rating with the space at their individual lockers and the fourth-lowest satisfaction with the space of the room as a whole.

Two teams received F-minus grades for their locker rooms, which the union grading scale classified as 0 to 49 points out of 100.

Fifty percent of Cardinals players believe their individual lockers are large enough while just 24% approve of the overall locker room size. Just 39% of Cleveland Browns players believe their individual lockers are sufficient, with 29% approving of the locker room size.

Arizona team owner Michael Bidwill was the second-lowest graded team owner on his willingness to invest in the facilities (5.9 out of 10), the Browns’ Jimmy Haslam garnering a 7.98 out of 10 that ranked 21st.

While there was some correlation between modern facilities and player approval ratings, the Commanders showed drastic jumps could be made without full renovation. Their improvement from the league’s worst-graded workplace to 11th in one year reflects changes from new team owner Josh Harris and head coach Dan Quinn, with Harris ranking fourth-highest on his contributions to positive team culture and to building a competitive team while Quinn was the most highly graded coach.

Teams also improved grades via offering more robust and affordable family support and more comfortable travel.

“This is not solely a knock down walls and buildings issue,” Tretter said. “There are softer issues when it comes to treatment of families, when it comes to travel, when it comes to staffing, that make major differences for players. Yes, the physical facilities do, too.

“So there are multiple ways of solving your issues.”