Art Rooney II Dismisses Steelers Failing NFLPA…
According to player votes cast in the NFLPA team and facilities report card, the Steelers came in at number 28, as the union declared in February. This past year, the squad fell from 22nd in the first rankings to 28th.
The Steelers scored well for head coach Mike Tomlin, but poorly for ownership, travel, family amenities, and club facilities.
Pittsburgh rated 16th in cafeteria/food and 20th in strength coaches (however Marcel Pastoor, the head coach of strength and conditioning, has since been changed). The Steelers players particularly detested the locker room (30th), the team’s nutritionist and dietician (30th), team travel (28th), training staff (28th), training room (29th), and treatment of families. All other ratings were in the bottom 10 in the league.
According to the poll, the Steelers are one of four clubs who don’t offer family rooms or childcare assistance to its players’ kids on game days.
During the 2024 NFL Combine, NFLPA president JC Tretter stated, “They don’t offer what is normal with other teams.”
Rooney claimed the Steelers do receive direct feedback from its players, but he rejected the poll itself.
“We would rather receive feedback from the players directly,” he stated. “I have no idea where that survey originated. We don’t receive a presentation of it. It is shown to the press. In my opinion, it’s more of a publicity stunt for the players’ organization than a sincere attempt at offering helpful critique. Having said that, we will still keep an eye on yearly facility improvements.
In addition, the Steelers and Pitt Panthers share a long-term lease at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side. The lack of high-quality facilities was a major grievance expressed in the NFLPA poll, and the Steelers do not have the space to grow on the South Side in order to accommodate all of the player requests.