BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Buffalo Bills organization once again ranked in the top half of the league in the annual NFL Players Association anonymous survey, administered by the union to highlight clubs that go above and beyond for their players and identify areas for improvement ahead of free agency.
The Bills ranked 11th overall in the 2024 Report Card, dropping two slots from the inaugural survey last season.
New this year were player grades for their head coach and ownership. The Bills scored high in both metrics, with coach Sean McDermott receiving an A from his players (12th overall by points) and owner Terry Pegula getting an A-, good for eighth among ownership groups.
The Bills earned their highest grades for weight room (A+, 2nd) and strength coaches (A, 3rd), marking the second straight year of high performance for the unit led by Eric Ciano, who was named the NFL’s best strength and conditioning coach in 2020.
On the flip side, players again gave the Bills low marks for team travel, which remained 25th overall. Players also gave poor marks for the team’s nutritionist/dietician services (D+, 29th), which was split off into its own category this year.
The Bills did not receive an F grade in any of the 11 metrics surveyed. More than one quarter of franchises received multiple F grades, including the Bengals, Patriots, Steelers, Commanders, Chargers, Chiefs, Cardinals, Falcons and Buccaneers. Players for the Chiefs, winners of three of the last five Super Bowls, gave the Hunt family an F- grade for ownership.
Bills 2024 NFLPA report card
Category20242024 rank20232023 rankRank +/-Treatment of FamiliesB6thA-4th-2Food/CafeteriaC23rdC*15th*-8*Nutritionist/DieticianD+29thC*15th*-14*Locker RoomB+8thA-T-8th0Training RoomB+8thB+T-5th+3Training StaffB19thAT-9th-10Weight RoomA+2ndA+T-1st-1Strength CoachesA3rdA+T-1st-2Team TravelD25thD+T-25th0Head CoachA12th—OwnershipA-8th—Overall rank11th9th-2*Food service/nutrition was split into two separate categories in 2024
The NFLPA said the survey was administered from Aug. 26 to Nov. 16, with 1,706 players offering responses.
Bills superlatives
Other items of note from the survey:
Players took umbrage with their travel arrangements: The Bills ranked dead last in one sub-metric: “Only 45% of the players feel like they have a comfortable amount of personal space during flights (32nd overall),” according to the NFLPA. Additionally: “Players are frustrated by the seating on the team plane. Staff members get priority over the players, who are mostly assigned to the smaller economy seats where many of the bigger players don’t comfortably fit.” … The survey did note that the Bills do not require any players to have roommates before games, an improvement from the 2023 survey that listed the Bills as one of just six teams that made their young players have roommates.
Suggestions for better treatment of families: The Bills grade for treatment of families took a step back this year, while remaining high compared to the rest of the league. “Players suggest improvements such as: the ability for family members to get pregame sideline passes, improved communications and a more comfortable postgame area.”
Where the Bills ranked #1: “100% of players feel like the locker room is big enough (1st overall).”
Players view Sean McDermott, Terry Pegula favorably: 98% of players felt McDermott is efficient with their time (4th overall), and said he is willing to listen to the locker room (11th overall). Pegula received a rating of 9.1 out of 10 from Bills players when considering his willingness to invest in the facilities (8th overall).
Training staff grade dips: “The team hired an additional trainer after last season, but the players still feel like they do not have nearly enough staff coverage, especially when looking at physical therapist staff. Only 79% of players feel they have enough full-time physical therapists (23rd overall).”
Around the AFC East: The Dolphins were the highest-graded club in the league, earning straight A’s. Owner Stephen Ross was the highest-graded owner, receiving a near perfect score. … The Jets ranked 21st, only scoring in the top half of the league in one category, Nutritionist/Dietician. … The Patriots ranked 29th, better than only three franchises as they exit the Bill Belichick era. “The results point to club management that has not been keeping up with changing times,” the NFLPA wrote, adding, “The Patriots are the only team in the NFL with a majority of players feeling that their team’s facility is worse than places they could train offsite.”
For more, you can explore the Bills 2024 Report Card and compare it to their 2023 Report Card.