NFLPA Exposes Steelers' Low Grade Facility And Meager Care Of Players' Families

For generations, the Pittsburgh Steelers organization has established and maintained a strong reputation for putting players’ needs first. Heading into the free agency period this offseason, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) conducted its first-ever survey for players to evaluate the different clubs in different aspects. With a valid increase of attention towards facility conditions, field conditions and strength and well-being support, NFL free agents now need to consider other factors of possible team destinations outside of, “where am I going to win a Super Bowl?”. 

NFLPA President JC Tretter shed some light on the objective of this survey and subsequent report card at the NFL Combine.

“Basically, one of the things we wanted to be able to present to players was, what are the decisions your team is making when given the option to do something for you,” Tretter said. “I don’t want this to be mudslinging. There were a lot of examples of teams doing great things for their players.”

How Did The Steelers Score?

To begin, players graded their teams in eight different categories. Those categories included treatment of families, food service/nutrition, weight room, strength coaches, training room, training staff, locker room and team travel. Let’s look at how the Steelers scored in those areas.

Treatment Of Families: D-

If you’re like me, you may be shocked to see such a low score in an area where we’ve seen the organization establish such a positive reputation. This score was a combination of a couple of variables. First, was the pregame and game-time amenities. The Steelers are one of 11 clubs that don’t offer childcare services for families during games. 

In addition, they are one of 14 clubs that don’t offer a formal family room at the stadium for players’ families on gameday. Those two components landed the Steelers at 23rd in the league in that regard. Further, when considering the postgame activities, the Steelers lack in providing a gathering space after games. So much so, players ranked them 31st in the league in that.

Food Service/Nutrition: B+

With that B+ grade, the Steelers tied with the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants and Houston Texans for eighth place in the NFL. In relation to the AFC North division, the Steelers top the division ahead of the Baltimore Ravens (B-), the Cleveland Browns (D+) and the Cincinnati Bengals (F-). According to players, the Steelers serve the seventh-best quality food and offer all three meals during the day. The B+ grade is mostly reflective of the fact that 60 percent of players said there is an ample amount of room available in the cafeteria.

Weight Room: C

Those old videos of James Harrison lifting weights with chains and showing off his massive muscles in the Pittsburgh facility appear to be a thing of the past. According to players, the facility is very small and understaffed. The current staff is led by Senior Conditioning Coordinator, Garrett Giemont and Conditioning Assistant, Marcel Pastoor. Outside of them, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of help for the players. This landed the Steelers with a 73 percent acceptance rate of the team having enough strength coaches, which is tied for dead last in the league.

Strength Coaches: A-

This may be a testament to the strong experience and acumen Giemont and Pastoor bring to the weight room. However, the report provides the disclaimer of most teams rated their strength coaches positively. The Steelers’ strength coaches ranked 17th in adding to the players’ successes, but players gave high grades to the staff, which is how they arrived at that A- evaluation. From an individual-success standpoint, 93 percent of players said the Steelers’ staff provides individual strength and conditioning plans, which ranked 21st in the league.

Training Room: D-

This category was broken out into three areas which included staffing, steam room/sauna and tubs. Similar to the weight room grades, the Steelers’ staffing drove down this grade. With increased attention to player protection and injury prevention, the NFL provided certified athletic trainers (ACT’s) to be present for each team. 79 percent of players felt the Steelers had enough ACT’s on the staff, which landed them as the fifth-worst in the league. In addition, 62 percent of players felt there were enough physical trainers on hand, which is also the fifth-worst in the league.

When looking at the aquatic-based amenities, the Steelers are one of six teams in the NFL who don’t offer a sauna. However, they offer a steam room, which 85 percent of players consider to be large enough. Looking at the tub space, 93 percent of players said the Steelers’ hot tub space was large enough, while 87 percent of players think the cold tub space is large enough.  

Training Staff: B+

This grade is relatively modest, but in relation to the league, this lands the Steelers tied for 22nd in the league with the Ravens. Similar to what we saw with the strength coaches’ grades, players across the board graded their training staff high. This is why we see a fairly high grade yet paired with a mediocre ranking. According to the players, they feel as though the Steelers’ training staff “moderately adds to their success.” The Steelers’ staff consists of Head Athletic Trainer John Norwig, Assistant Athletic Trainer Sonia Ruef, Assistant Athletic Trainer/Physical Therapist Jon Andino and Assistant Athletic Trainer Daveon Lee.

Locker Room: D+

Similar to the reputation of the Steelers, the locker room appears to be old-fashioned, blue-collar and not necessarily as ‘state-of-the-art’ as we tend to see in newer stadiums. In relation to the division, the Ravens have the best locker room, while the Bengals have the worst, leaving the Steelers and Browns tied. The largest catalyst to this grade was the fact that only 80 percent of players feel as though they have enough space in the locker room. 

In addition to that, players seem to be frustrated with the fact it is in need of renovations to keep up with the needs of today's players. During the season, fans have limited views of the locker room with 53 players standing at their lockers. However, fans are able to take tours of the locker room at Acrisure Stadium and evaluate for themselves. Could we see renovations coming to modernize these in the future?

Team Travel: B

It is no secret that Steelers fans have an elite ability to travel to opposing cities on gamedays. According to the players, the team is no different. With travel consuming roughly 50 percent of the season, one could argue this is one of the most important categories. To lead off this grade, every player feels as though they have enough space on road games. In addition, the Steelers do not require roommates in hotels the night before games, leading to every player having his own personal space.

But with that said, the reason surrounding the B grade came down to the actual travel to and from cities. The Steelers only provide a limited amount of first-class seats leaving the remaining members the traditional seating on the team plane. Clubs like the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys have made large investments in their air travel by purchasing customized team planes. Although the Steelers own their own aircraft, it may be worth making a similar investment in the team’s aviation travel.

To compare these grades to the AFC North division, the Steelers fall right in the middle. They received the highest grade in food offerings and nutrition. However, they saw the division’s lowest grades in the training and locker rooms. In addition, there were a couple of “F's” for the Ravens and the Bengals. The Ravens received failing grades in their treatment of families and their food and nutritional offerings. The Bengals received a failing grade for their strength staff. 

In relation to the league, the Steelers finished at the 22nd spot, with only the Bengals behind them at the 27th spot. The Ravens led the way at the 17th-best grades, while the Browns barely edged out the Steelers landing at the 21st spot.

Do you agree with these grades? Which grade surprised you? Let us know in the comments below!

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