Premier League fans rarely receive a direct peek into how the owners of their clubs are perceived by their players, but in American football, the now annual NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) Report Card provides an insight into how elite athletes really feel about those such as the Glazer and Kroenke families, whose sporting empires extend across the Atlantic into Manchester United and Arsenal.

The NFLPA is the union that represents the interests of NFL players to protect their health, rights and families. Their annual report card for 2025 received feedback from 1,695 players, offering insight into the working conditions at their teams, which the union say is aimed at helping players to make important career decisions and helping to raise standards across the league.

The players are asked for feedback across numerous categories; treatment of families, food/dining area, nutrition, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and ownership. The answers are received anonymously to give players the freedom to be more open and the teams are then awarded a grade for each category ranging from an ‘A+’ (equating to a score of 97-100 out of 1oo) to an ‘F-‘ (0-49/100).

One of the lowest ratings for ownership came from players at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which has been owned by the Glazer family since 1995. The majority owners of Manchester United have received longstanding criticism for their custodianship of the club’s Old Trafford stadium, with part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who acquired a stake through his company INEOS in 2024, saying the team needs a stadium “befitting” the club’s name because it is currently “not there”.

The United stadium has had issues with a leaking roof, while one of Ratcliffe’s first acts was to invest £50m in a renovation of the club’s Carrington training ground. Shortly before the Ratcliffe minority takeover, United had their food hygiene rating downgraded to one out of five after The Athletic revealed the club was under investigation for serving raw chicken to guests at a corporate event. As of November 2024, it remained at two out of five, with the Food Standards Agency saying that improvement is necessary in the “cleanliness and condition of facilities and building (including having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control)”.

In Tampa, the players scored the Glazers a ‘D+’ for ownership, which placed them 27th out of the 32 NFL teams. The report states that “players want better food quality and more variety in the cafeteria”. It also says the players have “major concern” about “locker room cleanliness”, as 44 per cent of players reported “ongoing plumbing issues” and complained about “persistent bad odours”.

Players scored the team ‘C-‘ for treatment of their families, food/dining area and travel. Complaints included players being asked to “sit in smaller seats in the back of the plane, while staff sit in the larger first-class seats”. They also said renovations are necessary in the “tub room”, which may bring to mind Cristiano Ronaldo’s complaints upon his return to Manchester United in 2021, when the club made modifications in response to his concerns, most notably in a refurbishment of the swimming pool and sauna, where tiling needed replacing.

The Bucs’ facilities were opened almost two decades ago in 2006, but this is the second consecutive year players have complained about them. In 2024, cleanliness was also raised as a concern. The report said: “The players say the locker room is not clean, constantly smelly and has a persistent bug issue in the showers. They also mention that the sauna is dirty and/or mouldy, small and constantly breaking down. The players feel the locker room is old, outdated and needs to be renovated.” The complaints about the quality of travel are also repeated from 2024.

The Bucs’ players rated the Glazer family’s “perceived willingness to invest in facilities” as 6.5/10, ranking them 27th out of the 32 owners, adding that they feel the family is “somewhat committed” to constructing a competitive team, ranking them 26th. The Bucs did win the Super Bowl in 2021, which included a huge investment in Tom Brady. In 2024, the owners received a ‘D-‘ rating from the players, with perceived willingness to invest scored at 6.1/10 — ranking them 29th out of 32.

The complaints about treatment of families included a lament that the team do not have a family room during home games, along with 10 other teams, but the ‘C-‘ score was an improvement on last year’s ‘F’ grade after the Bucs stopped charging $90 per child for daycare during home games.

The Bucs also offered families significant support when Hurricane Milton approached Florida in October. According to the Tampa Bay Times, they undertook an evacuation to New Orleans over six days, which included using three hotels and three chartered planes before a victory over the New Orleans Saints and then, after the damage inflicted by the storm, the team provided hotel space in Tampa for the families of players and coaches who were left without power or with damaged homes.

The Athletic invited a formal response to their grades from the Buccaneers, who said the appropriate personnel at the organisation were not able to be reached for comment. They did receive an ‘A’ grade for the quality of their strength coaches, while the team’s head coach, Todd Bowles, and his training staff received ‘B+’ and ‘B’ grades respectively.

The Glazers were not the only owners familiar to Premier League supporters to come under fire from their own players.

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) own not only Arsenal but also the Los Angeles Rams. The Kroenkes had appeared to recover their standing in London in recent years as investment in the playing team and an upturn in fortunes under head coach Mikel Arteta saw Arsenal challenge for the Premier League title and return to the Champions League. They have, however, faced questions in recent months after the loss of Edu as sporting director, as well as the failure to recruit elite-level forward players in the summer and winter transfer windows. Their overall rank in the NFL report was 21st out of the 32 teams.

They received a ‘C’ rating for ownership from the Rams players, who gave the owners 7.02 out of 10 for perceived willingness to invest in facilities, ranking them 25th out of 32 owners. The players said that owner Stan Kroenke “moderately contributes to a positive team culture”, giving a rank of 19th out of 32.

The lowest rank was for family treatment — a ‘D’ (30th out of 32). The report says that while the Rams provide daycare during home games, they charge players $75 for the first child and $50 for each additional child to use the service. Players also complained that the team shares information only with “significant others”, while not providing those without a significant other the possibility of having information shared with a designated family member.

Other complaints included a ‘C-‘ for the food/dining area and a ‘C+’ for the weight room, where “players feel they do not have enough space to train effectively”. Andrew Whitworth, who played for the Rams between 2017 and 2021, said on X last week that the Rams’ cafeteria has been “massively upgraded” since his time at the team, a period in which he describes the food as “rough”, but players in the report still ranked the taste of their food 6.52 out of 10 (28th out of 32).

Stan Kroenke and son Josh take in a Champions League game at Arsenal this season (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

The team’s head coach, training coaches, nutrition team, strength coaches and team travel all scored ‘A’ or ‘B’ grades. The Rams declined to comment, but it is also worth bearing in mind the team are currently based in a temporary facility in Woodland Hills, which meant sky-high marks for facilities were unlikely.

Another Premier League owner, Shahid Khan of Fulham, also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he received a ‘B+’ from the players for ownership. The only major complaint came in relation to the treatment of families (an ‘F’, which ranked the Jaguars 31st out of 32). The report said players want many changes to be made.

It added: “They would like more access to sideline passes so they can see their families pregame. During the game, players want a family room so their families can escape the heat and allow mothers to change/nurse babies. Finally, players want their post-game family area upgraded.”

Otherwise, the Jaguars received a spate of ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades, with the exception of a ‘C’ for the head coach Doug Pederson, who has now departed, with players saying he was “somewhat receptive” to locker room feedback. That ranked the Jaguars 32nd out of 32 on this metric. The players also gave a ‘C+’ for food, with their 7.06 out of 10 rating for freshness ranking them 29th out of 32 teams. The Jaguars had not responded to an approach for comment by The Athletic at the time of publication.

Crystal Palace part-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer were among the ownership groups to receive positive reviews in the players survey, with Harris’ role as managing partner of the Washington Commanders attracting praise. Blitzer is a limited partner in the Commanders and both he and Harris are General Partners at Crystal Palace in the Premier League. They own 18 per cent of the club but share equal voting rights with Palace chairman Steve Parish and fellow American investor John Textor.

Leeds United are pursuing promotion under the part-ownership of the 49ers (MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The overall ranking for the Commanders’ ownership, which bought out the unpopular Dan Snyder in 2023, had them 11th out of 32. The ownership scored an ‘A’ grade, saying the players believe Harris “significantly contributes” to a positive team culture and is “extremely committed” to building a competitive team — scores that ranked him 4th out of 32 on both counts.

There were variations of ‘A’ grades for the head coach, team travel and the strength coaches, but there is work to do in terms of facilities, where the locker room scored an ‘F’, with complaints about the space provided and plumbing issues. The Commanders declined to comment formally but said the franchise are investing in both their stadium and training facility, as well as currently renovating and improving the locker room.

Finally, there may be another NFL ownership group in the English top flight next season, as Leeds United, owned by 49ers Enterprises, are currently top of the Championship and looking good for promotion to the Premier League.

The San Francisco 49ers ranked 8th out of 32 in the player survey, receiving only variations of ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades. Players did complain that the showers and sauna have had issues in the locker room and training room respectively, but it was a broadly highly positive report for the ownership, who received an ‘A-‘ grade, as players said they were extremely committed to building a competitive team.

(Top photo: Getty Images)