Chiefs Won Super Bowl Despite Broken Promises About New Locker Room
The Kansas City Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl this month, so you'd think everything was great with their franchise. Well, on Wednesday, we learned that in an NFLPA survey, the team's players ranked the organization 31st out of 32 teams and ranked owner Clark Hunt dead last. It turns out one of the players' major complaints is broken promises about renovating the team's practice facility locker room.
Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star had the following report:
Asked NFLPA president JC Tretter about Chiefs' NFLPA low grade (31st overall). He said team — and specifically ownership — did not follow through on its promises to players for a new locker room after 2022 season. Tretter said players were told that the Chiefs played too long in…
— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) February 28, 2024
Some were confused about that complaint given these pictures from 2021:
We are absolutely in love with the new locker room 😍 pic.twitter.com/MXTz5eZg2y
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 26, 2021
But Newell clarified that those photos are of the locker room at Arrowhead Stadium, while the players were concerned with those at the practice facility. NFL players spend the bulk of their time at the team facility, not at the stadium.
Apparently owner Hunt had promised to renovate the practice facility after the 2022 season, one in which the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. He didn't follow through on that and apparently has made no indication he plans to actually step up and reward his players in that way.
After a second-straight Super Bowl, you'd think that would be a reasonable ask by the players. Patrick Mahomes is potentially the greatest quarterback we've ever seen, he shouldn't have to hang out in a bottom of the barrel practice facility.
The Hunt family is worth nearly $25 billion and the Chiefs' brought in $540 million in gross revenue in 2022 (the last season we currently have numbers for). Hunt needs to bite the bullet and reward his players.