Patriots Rank In Bottom Of The League In Annual NFLPA Player Survey

FOXBOROUGH, MA — The New England Patriots continue to fall down the rankings in the NFLPA's annual Team Report Cards, but people within the league believe there's reason for optimism ahead.

New England ranks 31st out of 32 teams in the 2025 ranking, a fall from 29th last year and 24th in 2023.

After receiving an F- last year for their treatment of players’ families, the team hired a staff member to manage family services and added a family room and daycare service during games this past season. NFLPA officials said the changes were "well received", shifting family support from the team's biggest weakness to its biggest strength in 2025.

But several issues remain, including the need for a renovated building, a small weight room and outdated locker rooms. The team's weight room ranks last in the NFL, New England's lowest ranking across categories.

This, however, is where the hope can start to build.

Team owner Robert Kraft announced a $50 million investment in a new facility adjacent to the stadium, which broke ground in December and is expected to open in 2026.

What can't be fixed by a building renovation are the concerns around team travel. New England ranks 31st in the team travel category, with only 39 percent of players who responded stating they have a comfortable amount of space on flights for away games.

The team plane itself is also an issue for players, who believe it is "dated," lacking Wi-Fi and still having ashtrays in the seats.

These surveys have annually been used as a way to judge team culture, resources and facilities, but also in some ways to judge ownership.

Kraft doesn't rank highly in that category, with ownership ranked 29th of 32 teams in the 2025 survey.

There is context to be had within the rankings. For instance, 82 percent of the responding players were happy with the team's nutritionists and dieticians, receiving a B grade. That grade, however, still ranks 25th in the league, but officials said the letter grade should be a bigger indicator of quality.

"It’s important to remember that while rankings can be insightful, the letter grades remain the best reflection of performance. A 14th-place ranking with a B+ is still a sign of a strong, player-focused environment," NFLPA Chief Strategy Officer JC Tretter wrote in a letter.

The team's strength coaches also received a B ranking and, ironically, the highest letter grade the team received was for its now-former head coach Jerod Mayo. Players said Mayo was efficient with their time at a 93 percent clip, and felt he was "moderately receptive" to locker room feedback on team needs.

In 2024, new head coach Mike Vrabel received a B+ grade from the Tennessee Titans players who responded to the survey, with 94 percent of players believing he was efficient with their time and that he was "somewhat" willing to listen to the locker room.