In 2023, the N.F.L. players’ union conducted a workplace survey that revealed clogged showers, rats in the locker room — and some insights for those of us who don’t play football. Today we’re updating that episode, with extra commentary from Omnipresent Football Guy (and former Philadelphia Eagle) Jason Kelce. SOURCES:Tom Garfinkel, vice chairman, C.E.O., and president of the Miami Dolphins.Jim Ivler, certified contract advisor for players in the National Football League.Jason Kelce, host of New Heights podcast and former center for the Philadelphia Eagles.Jalen Reeves-Maybin, linebacker for the Detroit Lions and president of the National Football League Players Association.Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.J.C. Tretter, former president of the National Football League Players Association and former offensive lineman.Mark Wilf, owner and president of the Minnesota Vikings. RESOURCES:“N.F.L. Player Team Report Cards,” by the National Football League Players Association (2024)."NFLPA team report cards: Dolphins rank No. 1; Jaguars jump from 28th to fifth; Commanders earn worst grade," by Jonathan Jones (CBS Sports, 2024).Kelce, documentary (2023).“The N.F.L. Cast Him Out; He Says That Only Makes Him More Powerful,” by Alex Prewitt (Sports Illustrated, 2022).New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, (produced by Wave Sports + Entertainment). EXTRAS:"Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore?" by Freakonomics Radio (2025)“How Does Playing Football Affect Your Health?” by Freakonomics, M.D. (2023).“Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million?” by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
Full Episode
Hey there, it's Stephen Dubner, and I thought you might need a bonus episode of Freakonomics Radio for the upcoming Super Bowl. We recently put out a new episode about the economics of the running back position in the NFL. This episode, which we first published in 2023, looked at NFL teams as employers.
We've updated facts and figures as necessary, although the team rankings we discuss are from the 2023 report card. So stick around to the end to hear what changed in 2024. As always, thanks for listening. Hi, what can I get for you today? Maybe even something like this. Stand clear of the closing doors, please. What you probably don't think about when I say workplace environment is this.
But if you are one of the roughly 2,000 men who play in the National Football League, that's your office. I mean, it's business. Let's not get it wrong. It's business. The NFL Players Association, or NFLPA, is the union that represents the players. And in 2023, they conducted their first ever employee survey about workplace conditions.
I would never have thought to ask, are there rats in your locker room? And they gave letter grades to each of the league's 32 teams.
This is really about, are we giving you the inputs you need to be as productive as possible?
The NFL is the richest and most successful sports league in history. Each team is worth at least $4 billion.
Nobody wants to be known as the cheapskate. Before, when it was rumored you were the cheapskate, it was harder to prove. Now there's data.
And what does the data have to say? Among U.S. employees in general, job satisfaction is higher than it's been in decades. How satisfied are NFL players? Now, you may be saying to yourself, who cares about the workplace environment of NFL players? They make so much money, the environment shouldn't matter.
Or you may say, pro football is so different from what I do for a living, there's no way I'm going to learn anything worthwhile from this. Well, if we have done our job in making this episode, you will. At the very least, with another NFL season in the books, you will learn which teams got the best grades and the worst. Never really heard of an F-minus before.
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