Pittsburgh Steelers Owner Art Rooney II Fried By Players On NFLPA Report Card

Getty Image / Nick Cammett

The annual survey put on by the NFL Players’ Association on working conditions for each of the league’s 32 teams has been released. Some of the results are shocking.

Chief among those is the incredibly low grade given to the ownership of the Pittsburgh Steelers, led by Art Rooney II. The Rooney family has owned the franchise since the start of the team in 1933, and had been considered one of the best ownership groups in the league.

Needless to say, that’s not the case any longer. The Rooney’s were given an astonishing F grade.

That has to be a shock to the Pittsburgh Steelers ecosystem. It’s a franchise that has prided itself on having great ownership throughout the years. Along with that, it was known as a family atmosphere around the league.

That’s clearly not the case now. Other than the grade for longtime Head Coach Mike Tomlin, the franchise was not viewed positively by the players on the team.

An F- when it comes to treatments of families is truly miserable. Here’s some more information on that grade.

Yeah, those are very understandable complaints from Steelers players. Simply put, those are things that have to be taken care of for a franchise worth around $5 billion.

As for ownership, players are frustrated with what they perceive to be lackluster facilities and training opportunities. Overall, investments need to be made to address these concerns.

The issue lies in the fact that they share a team facility with the Pitt Panthers in a very crowded neighborhood in Pittsburgh. There simply isn’t much, if any, room to expand down there. The Steelers are going to have to possibly move a new facility away from the South Side of the city in order to give their players the modern amenities they want.

Ultimately, not a good day for the Rooney family, and it will be interesting how the Steelers respond.