A grievance recently filed by the NFL prevented the NFL Players Association from releasing its annual team report cards, as the league claimed those reports violated the collective bargaining agreement.
That didn’t stop them from being released, of course, as ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler acquired the report cards via a source and presented them on Thursday for the football world to review.
The Buffalo Bills finished in relatively good standing in terms of their overall grade, which ranked them 16th among the 32 clubs in the league. That was an improvement from last year’s ranking of No. 23 overall.
Terry Pegula
Pete Guelli, president of business operations, Brandon Beane, president of football operations and general manager, shake hands with owner and president Terry Pegula after a group photo with new Bills head coach Joe Brady on Jan. 29, 2026 at the Bills field house. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The grades
The Bills received the following grades as a result of the report cards:
Treatment of Families: B
Home Game Field: F
Food/Dining Area: B-
Nutritionist/Dietician: B-
Locker Room: B
Training Room: B+
Training Staff: B+
Weight Room: A
Strength Coaches: A
Position Coaches: A
Offensive Coordinator: A-
Defensive Coordinator: B
Special Teams Coordinator: B+
Team Travel: B-
Head Coach: A-
General Manager: A-
Team Ownership: A-
Highmark Stadium
A final look inside Highmark Stadium hours after the Bills' win over the Jets in their last regular season game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The improvements
The most notable boost for the Bills came in team travel, which was upgraded from an F- to a B-. Bills players had previously taken issue with coaches sitting in first class while players were forced to ride in more confined seating. It’s unclear what change led to the improved grade, however.
Elsewhere, the team’s head coach grade was elevated from a B last season to an A-, while ownership received the same bump. Despite the many significant injuries the Bills dealt with this season, their training staff went from a C in 2025 to a B+ in 2026, and the training room went from a B- to a B+.
A few grades that fell included treatment of families, which dropped from a B+ to a B, while the team’s strength coaches went from an A grade down to a B+.
The other notable takeaway from the grades was that the Bills’ home field was graded an F, with the team’s home turf struggling to measure up. That will likely change in 2026, when the team moves into its new stadium, which will now feature a grass playing surface.