JJ Watt calls out NFL after ending public team report cards

The NFL’s decision to bar the public release of players’ team report cards has drawn swift criticism from one of the league’s most respected voices. Former Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt took to social media Friday to denounce the move, hours after the league informed clubs that it had prevailed in a grievance against the NFL Players Association over the annual assessments.

An arbitrator ruled that the union must no longer publish the report cards, which have become a popular offseason window into locker-room sentiment. Players traditionally graded their organizations on everything from training facilities to ownership and coaching staff, offering rare transparency about workplace conditions across the league.

Watt highlighted what he sees as a double standard, noting that NBC’s Sunday Night Football routinely showcases third-party analytics—such as Pro Football Focus grades—while the league now blocks players from evaluating their own workplaces.

“NFL won’t let actual players grade the workplace they attend every single day, but they’ll allow a 3rd party ‘grading’ service to display their ‘rankings’ of players on national television every Sunday night…” Watt posted.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle echoed the sentiment, replying simply, “Go off jj.”

By silencing the report cards, the NFL has effectively removed a platform players used to voice concerns about team operations. The ruling is expected to fuel ongoing debate over transparency, labor relations, and the league’s control of its public narrative.