Steelers Reportedly Ranked Worst, Dolphins 1st In Leaked 2026 NFLPA Report Card Grades

The Pittsburgh Steelers received the worst overall grade in the NFL on 2026 annual player report cards compiled by the NFL Players Association and obtained by ESPN, Kalyn Kahler reported Thursday.

The Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders received the highest overall grades from players, according to Kahler.

On the flip side, the Cleveland Browns finished 30th and the Arizona Cardinals finished 31st.

This is the first time in four years of union player surveys that the Steelers have received the lowest grade in the league.

That included last-place rankings for ownership's willingness to invest in facilities and the team's home field, as well as an "F" grade for their locker room, according to Kahler.

The NFLPA will not be publicly releasing report cards this year due to pushback from the NFL, which claimed in a successful legal case the annual reports violated the CBA.

The NFL told teams on Feb. 13 the NFLPA had been banned "from publishing or publicly disclosing the results of future player Report Cards."

The memo accused the report cards as being "designed by the union to advance its interest under the guise of a scientific exercise."

The 2026 player report cards were based on a survey of 1,759 players on active NFL rosters answering questions between Nov. 2 and Dec. 11 of last year, according to Kahler.

Those Steelers ranked 22nd overall when the first edition of the NFLPA report cards was published in 2023. The franchise was ranked 28th overall in both the 2024 and 2025 report cards before reportedly dipping to 32nd in 2026.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II has been an outspoken critic of the NFLPA's report cards in the years leading up to the NFL's successful ban.

According to Kahler, the NFLPA survey stated that players cited "inadequate maintenance and excessive wear from hosting local college and high school games" when criticizing the Steelers' field.

That's not the only aspect of the Steelers' facility that players reportedly criticized in the survey.

The report also cited players saying the Steelers' locker room has "five bathroom stalls for the entire team" while criticizing the tech available in the training room and the team's strength coaches, according to Kahler.

The NFLPA survey, meanwhile, stated that the Dolphins organization had been described by players as "the best in the NFL," per Kahler.

This is reportedly the third straight year the Dolphins have finished on top of the NFLPA report card rankings.