JJ Watt Rips NFL For Siding With Woody Johnson And Billionaire Owners Over ‘Report Card’ Ruling

NFL players have generally graded team owners and the facilities at the end of a season which is then made public.

JJ Watt Rips NFL For Siding With Woody Johnson And Billionaire Owners Over ‘Report Card’ Ruling

JJ Watt, Woody Johnson and Roger Goodell (Image via Imago/Awful Announcing/X)

In Short
  • JJ Watt criticized the NFL for ending the annual player 'report card' that held team owners accountable.
  • The NFLPA was ordered to stop publicizing the report cards after a ruling deemed it a violation of the CBA.
  • Woody Johnson and other owners labeled the report cards as 'bogus,' fearing negative publicity from low grades.

When JJ Watt was still playing in the NFL, there was an annual activity that players took part in, wherein they would give teams grades on how good ownership and the facilities were at their disposal.

Naturally, such a ‘report card’ would bring praise to those franchises that not only had good owners, but more importantly, had the top-notch facilities that players enjoyed. But more than them, it was those at the bottom who would draw the most attention. Fans and those in the media would poke fun at them and use those instances later when creating narratives about teams.

It has also been unsurprising that some of the worst teams on that list are those who either have ‘bad’ owners, or do not have the facilities that would enable their players to perform at their best.

Now, that ‘report card’ would no longer come around after an arbitrator determined that the NFLPA violated the CBA. Therefore, they have been ordered to stop making public any future report cards.

NFL won’t let actual players grade the workplace they attend every single day, but they’ll allow a 3rd party “grading” service to display their “rankings” of players on national television every Sunday night…

JJ Watt wrote on X

This JJ Watt ripping the NFL for siding with owners, as the ‘report card’ was a good way to keep them accountable, right from the owner to the facilities.

Instead, the league wants to help the billionaires avoid facing backlash and trolls, even though they are supposed to be the best and provide the best for its players.

Woody Johnson labeled the report card ‘bogus’

JJ Watt might have a point, as this ‘report card’ has pushed owners to do better and provide the facilities for their players to compete. It has also helped stem any instances of toxic work culture.

Woody Johnson has generally been graded badly
Woody Johnson has generally been graded badly (Image via NYJets TF Media/X)

However, as per ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr., New York Jets owner Woody Johnson was one of the most notable opponents to this survey.

How they collected the information, [and] who they collected it from. [It] was supposed to be according to the agreement we have with the league. It’s supposed to be a process [where] we have representatives and they have representatives, so we know that it’s an honest survey.

Woody Johnson as quoted by ESPN

The pair of writers noted that the billionaire labeled these ‘report cards’ as ‘totally bogus.’ He felt that the way the survey was conducted was a violation of the rules.

Unsurprisingly, Johnson, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Art Rooney, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Michael Bidwill of the Arizona Cardinals, and the controversial David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers, received ownership grades of D or worse.

Alvin Kamara has a cheeky suggestion to bypass NFL’s latest rule

With the NFL getting a ruling to avoid these surveys from becoming a medium for its billionaire owners to be ridiculed in public, star running back Alvin Kamara has an alternate solution.

What if the players made one and tweeted it out at the end of every year, lol?

Alvin Kamara wrote on X

The five-time Pro Bowler suggested this, as he believes it would be the perfect way to bypass the NFL’s new rule. That way, the union does not end up violating the CBA rules.

However, unknown to Kamara, this would also violate the CBA, as his suggestion would land those players making it public in trouble. The NFLPA now has to find a way to get the message across to the owners and the league about potential areas of concern at the franchise level.

Also Read: