New York Jets owner Woody Johnson isn’t very popular among the team’s fanbase. He also isn’t popular among the team’s players, which we know thanks to the NFL Players Association’s annual team report cards.
The NFLPA annually releases the results of a survey sent out to NFL players, which polls players on various aspects of working conditions. Included in the survey is an “ownership” grade. In the latest report card, published in February 2025, the Jets were the only team to receive an “F” grade for ownership.
The report also featured the following notes regarding the players’ feelings on Johnson:
- “Owner Woody Johnson’s average rating for perceived willingness to invest in the facilities is 5.58 out of 10 from Jets players, a ranking of 32 out of 32 owners in the league.”
- “The players feel that Johnson does not contribute to a positive team culture, a rank of 32 out of 32.”
- “The players feel that Johnson is somewhat committed to building a competitive team, a rank of 31 of the 32 NFL owners.”
Johnson isn’t a big fan of these report cards, and he’s making sure his opinion is heard.
According to a report from ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr., the NFL has filed a grievance against the NFLPA, asking the union to stop its annual team report cards, claiming the exercise “violates the collective bargaining agreement by airing public criticism of teams,” per documents obtained by ESPN.
The report names Johnson as a driving force behind the push from NFL owners. At the NFL league meetings in March, Johnson called the report cards “totally bogus.”
Van Natta Jr. confirmed in an X post that Johnson is behind the grievance.
Within ESPN’s report, another anonymous owner is cited as saying, “the only owners who don’t care for [the report cards] are the ones who get the subpar grades.”
This news comes just over a month after Johnson publicly bashed his own player, Justin Fields. Now, Johnson is seeking to abolish his players’ only realistic means of returning the favor.
