The Browns scored a D grade or worse in the treatment of families, locker room, training room and team travel categories.
CLEVELAND — While the Cleveland Browns look to rebuild from the disastrous Deshaun Watson era that saw them hit rock bottom on the field in the 2024 season, they apparently also have a lot of work to do to improve the overall happiness of their own players off the field.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) released their 2025 player report card on Wednesday, and the results for the Browns were about as good as their 3-14 record. Cleveland came in at 30th out of 32 teams based on rankings from their own players last season.
The categories and where they ranked this past year can be seen below:
- Treatment of Families: D+
- Food/Dining Area: C-
- Nutritionist/Dietician: B-
- Locker Room: F-
- Training Room: D+
- Training Staff: C-
- Weight Room: A
- Strength Coaches: B+
- Team Travel: D
- Head Coach: C
- Ownership: C+
Treatment of Families
According to player feedback, Browns players gave poor ratings to the treatment of their families on gameday compared to the families of the coaching staff. Many players felt like the organization favored the families of the coaching staff compared to their own families.
Players cited that the Browns are one of only 10 teams without a family room during games. In addition, the families of the coaching staff have a post-game meetup inside the stadium while players’ families meet in a tent in the parking lot.
Food/Dining Area
Players gave average rankings to the organization in the areas of food taste, freshness and dining area, scoring 25th or below out of 32 teams in each category.
Nutritionist/Dietician
82% of players say that they get a personalized nutrition plan and gave the team dietician a “moderately accessible” ranking (26th out of 32 teams).
Locker Room
The Browns organization came up as the worst team in the league in terms of locker room space for individual lockers. They didn’t fare much better in terms of the overall size of the locker room, coming in at 31st out of 32 teams.
Training Room
The Browns ranked 27th out of 32 teams or below in the categories of:
- Enough full-time trainers
- Enough full-time physical therapists
- Enough hot tub space
- Enough cold tub space
Players reported that the training room is understaffed. The NFLPA noted that since the survey took place, the organization has hired two additional staff members.
Training Staff
The Browns organization ranked 31st out of 32 teams on receiving enough one-on-one training treatment. They ranked last in the league on the training staff contributing to their overall success.
Weight Room
Fresh off of the team’s state-of-the-art rebuild of their old weight room last off season, this category scored the highest marks on their report card.
The Browns ranked 8th out of 32 teams on high quality equipment and 9th out of 32 teams on having enough room to train.
Strength Coaches
Another high mark for the team, the Browns ranked 10th out of 32 teams in having individualized training plans, but players say the coaching staff only “moderately” contributes to their success.
Team Travel
Cleveland ranked 27th out of 32 teams or worse in the areas of having a comfortable amount of personal space on team flights and the team’s travel schedule. Players said the team’s travel schedule is “not very efficient.”
Head Coach
67% of players said head coach Kevin Stefanski is efficient with their time. Stefanski scored low, 30th out of 32 head coaches, on being receptive to locker room feedback on team needs. Stefanski fell below last year’s rankings in each of those categories.
Ownership
Owner Jimmy Haslam ranked 21 out of 32 teams on willingness to invest in facilities. He scored even lower marks on contributing to positive team culture (29th) and being committed to building a competitive team (29th).
Biggest grade changes from 2024 to 2025
The weight room received the biggest overall improvement going from a D in 2024 to an A in 2025 due to the brand new facility built last offseason.
Head coach and ownership both downgraded from B- and B to B and C+, respectively.
Coming off of the 2023 season, outside of the disappointing loss to the Texans in the first round of the playoffs, optimism was high regarding the Browns’ on-field product. Kevin Stefanski was the NFL’s Coach of the Year, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was Assistant Coach of the Year, DE Myles Garrett was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year and Joe Flacco was the league’s Comeback Player of the Year.
Fast forward a year, a 3-14 record paired with the awkward and seemingly unceremonious end to the Deshaun Watson era has left those at the top of the organization with much more skepticism from those in the Cleveland locker room.
Perhaps the most telling line of the NFLPA’s entire report is the last line in their “overview” section that reads:
“In addition to issues with their locker room, players express concern about poor time management and a lack of culture, accountability, and standards within the organization.”
To see the full report, visit the NFLPA’s website HERE.