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NFLPA Dallas Cowboys Report Card (2024)
Every year the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the union that represents the NFL’s players, conducts an extensive survey of its members about the environment that comes with playing for their respective team. This exercise is an effort to improve conditions around the league. Read ahead to see the Dallas Cowboys’ grades in each key category of the survey, all information provided by the NFLPA from 1,706 responding players.
Treatment of Families: Grade A-
The Cowboys ranked fourth out of 32 teams with an A- in their treatment of players’ families. Dallas was boosted in this category because they provide daycare for player’s children on gameday and also provide a family room at the stadium.
Food/Cafeteria: Grade B
Players complimented the overall taste and freshness of the food made available by the Cowboys. Dallas finished 11th overall in the NFL in this survey category.
Nutritionist/Dietician: B
The Cowboys received high marks here and rank 11th out of 32 NFL teams in this category. 87% of Dallas’ players feel like they receive an individualized diet/nutrition plan from the club.
Locker Room: A
Extremely high marks from the players on the Dallas locker room facilities. Every player surveyed felt like the locker room was big enough, which was the highest grade in the league. The Cowboys ranked second overall out of all 32 teams in the locker room category.
Training Room: C-
This area appears to be a serious issue for Cowboys’ players, as the team ranked just 26th in the league in the Training Room category of the survey. The biggest note from players here was that the Dallas training room is extremely understaffed and lacks some basic equipment that would normally be found in most NFL training rooms.
Training Staff: D+
Training Staff was the category that the Cowboys graded out worst in. Their overall grade ranked 30th among the NFL’s 32 teams. Only 62% of responding players felt as though they received enough one-on-one treatment from the Dallas training staff.
Weight Room: Grade A
Cowboys players felt as though they had both plenty of space and high-quality equipment available to them in the Dallas weight room. The organization graded out fifth in the league in this category.
Strength Coaches: B+
Dallas strength coaches earned a solid B+ grade in this year’s survey. 93% of players felt as though they received an individualized plan or attention with the large majority of respondents feeling as though the strength coaches significantly contributed to their success.
Team Travel: C-
The Cowboys are one of just seven NFL teams that require some of their players to have a roommate the night before a game. 72% of the players also felt as though they don’t have a comfortable amount of personal space on team flights.
Head Coach: A
Although he’s no longer the head coach of the Cowboys, Mike McCarthy received very high marks from his players in 2024. An overwhelming majority of players felt that McCarthy was very willing to listen to the locker room and 96% of players believed he was efficient with their time. The now-departed McCarthy finished ninth among head coaches in overall player grade in 2024.
Ownership: B
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones received a rating of 8.6/10 from Dallas players when considering his willingness to invest in facilities. Jones’ finished a middle-of-the-pack 19th in the Ownership category.
Overall Rank: 12th of 32 NFL teams
Dallas finished 12th overall in the 2024 NFLPA rankings. While the locker room and weight room facilities received A’s, as did now-departed head coach Mike McCarthy, the players were very low on the training room and training staff situation with many feeling the Cowboys are severely understaffed in that area.
