Rams facilities given a D+ grade in NFLPA survey

In a recent NFLPA survey, the Rams facilities were given a D+ grade by the players

The Los Angeles Rams have one of the worst training and weight room facilities in the NFL according to a survey of players conducted by the NFL Players Association. The NFLPA survey examined eight facets of teams’ operations and facilities: treatment of players’ families, food services and nutrition, weight rooms, strength and conditioning coaching, athletic training rooms, athletic training staffs, locker rooms and travel.

NFLPA President JC Tretter said in a statement,

“One of our core jobs as a union is to improve the overall working conditions for our players. Often, you see our advocacy on “big” issues — like our push for better field surfaces at stadiums or standardized safety protocols that limit the risk of workplace injuries — but it also includes the daily experience of players at the team facilities away from the lights and cameras.”

When it came to the facilities and training room, the Rams were one of seven teams to receive a D grade or lower. In the Rams report card, the NFLPA states,

“They are currently operating from a “temporary” practice facility; however, they have not even broken ground at their “permanent” practice facility, so players expect to be working out of the current building for the foreseeable future. Players do not feel that the “temporary” facility was built to support professional athletes, and unsurprisingly, in the opinions of player respondents, it leaves a lot to be desired.”

Currently, the Rams are operating out of Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks during the week for practices. As a lower-level collegiate facility, it makes sense that a group of professional athletes don’t feel that this is up to NFL standard.

The Rams have been in Los Angeles for six seasons and have not made a lot of headway in this area.

There has been some progress made, but nothing is official or set in stone. Last February, there was speculation that the Rams could build a practice facility in Woodland Hills. Rams owner Stan Kroenke purchased the outdoor shopping mall in Woodland Hills in January for $325M. However, it is still unclear whether or not this area would eventually be developed into the Rams practice facility.

Meanwhile, the Chargers practice facility in El Segundo is set to open in 2024 that was purchased for $270M. As it stands, the Los Angeles Chargers were given a F- grade for their current weight room set up.

It’s pretty clear that players from both Los Angeles franchises have not been pleased with the current operations.

While there was negative feedback from the players on the training facilities, the Rams’ report wasn’t completely negative. According to the Rams report card,

“The negative feedback on the facility is somewhat offset by positive feedback about the staff. The current coach, Sean McVay, supports his players as well as any other coach in the NFL. The players also think very highly of both their training staff and their strength coaches, and 95% of players feel like club owner Stan Kroenke is willing to spend money to upgrade the facilities, ranking 13^th overall. The hope is that willingness to invest translates into a new building to support the players soon.”

Players seem to enjoy the Rams coaches and training staff which plays a large role in the teams’ culture. The Rams were one of eight teams to give their training staff an A+ grade. They also received an A+ grade for their strength coaches.

In the other categories, the Rams received a D+ for their treatment of players’ families, D in food service/nutrition, C for their weight room, D for their Locker Room, and B- in team travel.

There’s no doubt that the Rams have one of the best stadiums in the NFL. However, there is still room for improvement in other areas.

The goal of this survey conducted by the NFLPA is to highlight the positive things that teams are doing, identify clubs that need improvement, and highlight best practices and standards.