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Rich Cimini
PALM BEACH, Fla. — New York Jets chairman Woody Johnson, the only owner to receive an F grade in the NFL Players Association annual team report card, dismissed the findings Monday, calling the survey “totally bogus.”
Johnson said he values his relationship with the players and their opinions, but he questioned the integrity of the poll. Asked what was bogus about it, he replied, “The whole thing.”
It was a survey of 1,695 players who graded their respective teams in various categories. It was released Feb. 26. The NFLPA was critical of the Jets’ top leadership and culture.
Johnson, speaking to reporters at the annual league meeting, took issue with “how they collected the information [and] who they collected it from. [It] was supposed to be according to the agreement we have with the league. It’s supposed to be a process [where] we have representatives, and they have representatives, so we know that it’s an honest survey.
“And that was violated, in my opinion. I’m going to leave it at that, but I think there are a lot of owners that looked at that survey and said this is not fair, it’s not balanced, it’s not every player, it’s not even representative of the players.”
The Jets’ overall ranking, based on grades in 11 categories, was 29th — a drop from 21st in 2023.
“We want to get better every day in every category,” Johnson said. “We want to be No. 1 in everything. All of our people do. … If there are areas we can improve — and I think there are always areas we can improve, not because of this bogus report — we’re going to do it.”
The NFLPA, on its website, explains the methodology, saying it used research experts from an independent group to provide guidance on best practices for conducting the survey. It was administered from Aug. 26 to Nov. 20, 2024, and was done online and anonymously. Every rostered player at the time of the survey was provided access to the poll.
While he disputed the results, Johnson said he will try to create better communication with the players. The longtime owner, heavily criticized by fans and media for the bitterly disappointing 2024 season, acknowledged in a January interview that he will try to improve.
“If [the players] are getting bored with the food or bored with the way the place looks, let me know,” he said. “I can’t do anything if they don’t tell me, so I think we’re going to have a lot better communication with the players in terms of what they’re looking at every day. Because if I was looking at the same thing every day, I might get bored with it, too.”
Johnson said he doesn’t believe the unflattering report card is impacting the team’s ability to attract free agents. He emphasized that “the essence of the game is the players. That’s what it’s all about. Anything we can do to make their lives and their families better, we’re going to do.”
The Jets missed the playoffs for the 14th straight year, a dysfunctional season that saw Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas fired as the coach and general manager, respectively. Another casualty was quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was released earlier this month.
“Both Aaron [Glenn] and the general manager made the decision it was time to move on,” Johnson said, commenting publicly for the first time on Rodgers’ ouster. “The experiment was a good experiment, to bring him in, but it just didn’t work out, as you can see. I have a lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers. He is a great player, a Hall of Famer player. I’m sorry it didn’t work out, but we made a choice. I think we made the right choice. They made the right choice.”
Johnson confirmed a Sports Business Journal report that said the Jets have offered voluntary buyouts to approximately 170 of their 250 employees. The deadline for accepting was Monday. There will be no layoffs, the Jets said. Johnson said they decided to offer buyouts, in part, to help improve the team’s culture.
“We thought this is a good time to give everybody a chance to re-evaluate what they’re doing in their lives,” he said. “We want people that are all-in, 100% to what the plan is, what we’re trying to do on the football side. On the business side, they have to be exactly the same. They have to be together to serve our public and serve our players in a much more innovative way than we have.”
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