Bengals can breathe a sigh of relief after NFL takes care of keeping their weakness hidden from public criticism
No more NFLPA Report Cards for us on the outside.
No longer will the Cincinnati Bengals, or any other team for that matter, be subjected to having the NFLPA put them on blast for everyone to see.
The NFL won its grievance Friday against the NFLPA regarding the publication of the latter’s annual “Team Report Cards.” An arbitrator found the union that represents the players “cherry-picked” answers that went into the reports for the public to see, which were written entirely by union staffers.
The report cards themselves will not be going away, per the player’s union, but league owners getting their way in hiding them from the public’s eye has clear ramifications. It also makes it clear why the Bengals are one of the clubs who stand to gain the most.
Bengals’ failing grades for treatment of families will no longer be used against them
The three-year run of access to the report cards had a damning consistency for Cincinnati. The club’s “Treatment of Families” was given a failing grade in all three years. An F in 2023 was downgraded to an F- in 2024, and stayed an F- in 2025.
Player feedback in this regard highlighted a lack of gameday daycare, family room, a general family area, and family events.
Other clubs around the league have also been graded low in this category, but the Bengals were the only one to be given at least an F in all three years.
From an organizational standpoint, not being publicly chastised with a failing grade in what seems like an integral area of employee care is a positive for Cincinnati. If owners were the main driving force behind the grievance, then Mike Brown and the Blackburns would surely like to keep these affairs private.
But this all revolves around one area of operations. The report cards have covered many more categories, and not only did the Bengals grade well in many of them, the publicizing of the other low grades actually seemed to spark change.
The good that came out of the report cards for the Bengals
Cincinnati’s locker room seemed to be impacted the most from the report cards. The Bengals had not really touched their locker room since the initial construction of Paycor Stadium (formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium) back at the start of the century. It received a D+ grade following the 2023 season, and plans were already underway that same offseason for a major renovation.
The renovation got recognition from the NFLPA, and sure enough, it was graded an A+ on the 2025 report card. Team travel also experienced a jump from a C to an A- that year.
“Food/Dining Area” was the other embarrassingly low grade Cincinnati had in 2025. Its F grade was reflected of the club not offering three meals a day, and a league-worst grade for freshness of food.
While we don’t know any improvements made in this area, the Bengals did make their dietician, Lindsay Langford, a full-time employee of the club last year per request of the players. She was previously a consultant.
Objectively, Cincinnati is a better organization now compared to three years ago when the first batch of report cards were published. It’s fair to wonder if the improvements made would even transpire if the Bengals weren’t faced with public criticism in the first place.
The NFL doesn’t like its dirty laundry aired, but sometimes, that’s the only way real progress is made.
Cincinnati Bengals News
Bengals assistant coach continues his climb up the ranks to a position that bodes well for his future
Another internal promotion for a Bengals coach who will impact the most important position.
