The NFL's Best Team Has Its Worst Owner: Clark Hunt

Who says success starts at the top? One would think that after all the achievements Kansas City Chiefs players have notched the past half decade, leading to numerous playoff home games in addition to very well-attended regular season home games, they would report each day to a workplace with respectable accommodations. But in spite of all the money they’ve made for owner Clark Hunt, he has refused to significantly invest in the team’s facilities. Chiefs players and others throughout the league have noticed — and they’re pissed.

In the just-released second-annual NFL Players Association Team Report Cards, which polled 1,706 players on the quality of team facilities and the care organizations provide them, Clark Hunt received a grade of F-, the lowest ownership grade for any of the league’s 32 franchises. The NFLPA said in an accompanying statement that the mark indicates Hunt is “the least willing to invest in team facilities among all NFL owners/ownership group in the opinions of the respondents.”

For the Kansas City Chiefs, the training staff, locker room and the “nutritionist/dietician” all received grades of F. “Team travel” and the training room received D grades, while the overall “treatment of facilities” scored a D+.

We Found Out Where Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce Goes for Kansas City BBQ

With the Chiefs enjoying their bye week at 5-2, we caught up with the All-Pro pass-catcher on a variety of topics

“The number one complaint when it comes to the facilities is the locker room,” the NFLPA statement said. “Though the players received actual chairs with backs to sit in at their lockers in response to last year’s feedback, it did not change the fact that the locker room is overdue for a renovation. What adds to the frustration is that management told the players that renovations would come after the 2022 season. The players went on to win the Super Bowl and when they arrived back at their facility for the 2023-2024 season, they realized the team never followed through with the promised renovation (other than adding chairs).”

The training room received such a poor grade because it is perceived to be understaffed, according to the NFLPA. As a result, players do not receive injury-preventative treatment in Kansas City, though it is generally offered elsewhere around the league.

“From the results, it is clear that there has not been a significant reinvestment back into the facilities even after consistent success,” wrote the NFLPA. “That has led to a high level of frustration among player respondents.”

If there’s one thing players do respect about the Chiefs organization, it’s head coach Andy Reid, who earned the highest score of any such leader in the NFL with an A+. Unsurprisingly, he’s been a key cog in the Chiefs’ success machine. The actual owner of the franchise? Not so much.