When players sign with the Steelers in free agency, they almost always speak reverently about joining a prestigious organization, one of the most storied franchises in professional sports. But apparently, when it comes time to speak their mind on the pluses and minuses of being an NFL player in Pittsburgh, they’re singing a different tune.

Much like the inaugural NFLPA team report cards that were released a year ago around this time, the Steelers received some of the lowest marks from players in an anonymous survey of working conditions. When accounting for all 11 categories reviewed by the players union, the Steelers ranked 28th in the league, ahead of only the Patriots, Chargers, Super Bowl champion Chiefs and last-place Commanders.

“As you click through the results, remember that this project strives to capture an NFL player’s experience at his job/workplace and has nothing to do with winning, or losing, football games,” wrote NFLPA president JC Tretter. “The standards we are seeking to elevate are ones that help support the players and their families as they come to work every day. We hope that more clubs will see the value of this data so they can act and, in many cases, address simple things that make a big difference for their employees.”

Here’s how players graded the Steelers in the 11 areas evaluated:

—Treatment of families: F-, 29th

—Food/cafeteria: B-, 16th

—Nutritionist/dietician: D, 30th

—Locker room: F, 30th

—Training room: D+, 29th

—Training staff: C, 28th

—Weight room: C, 24th

—Strength coaches: B+, 20th

—Team travel: D, 28th

—Head coach: A, 5th

—Ownership: F, 31st

Only in the way they’re fed and the way they’re coached by Mike Tomlin do Steelers players give their team a score that’s in the top half of the NFL. Ironically, the only owner ranked below Art Rooney II in terms of a willingness to invest in facilities is Kansas City’s Clark Hunt, as the Chiefs promised players they would fully renovate the locker room after their 2023 Super Bowl victory and did not, according to the survey. The Dolphins ranked No. 1.

But back to the Steelers. Last year, when the NFLPA started this initiative, they ranked 22nd overall. Survey respondents reported that Tomlin “creates a great workplace culture by respecting them and their time.” And yet, it’s also highlighted again for the second consecutive offseason that the Steelers do not provide players with a family room or daycare for their loved ones on game day. (28 teams do.)

“We’ve talked to players about postgame family rooms, things like that,” Rooney said in late January when asked about last year’s survey. “We get input from them on that stuff.”

There was no immediate comment from the Steelers when the latest results were made public Wednesday. Hunt, the Chiefs owner, told Kansas City reporters at the NFL combine in Indianapolis that he agrees his team has “outgrown” the practice facility “and we recognize that we have a need to expand it and modernize it.”

Most of the Steelers criticism is focused on their day-to-day facilities, from the locker room to the weight room. Many players want a renovation and expansion of the locker room, as well as improvements to their workout room and training rooms, such as a sauna. The Steelers, of course, have little room for additions to their South Side headquarters they share with Pitt football. No other NFL team shares its facility with a college team, which makes for unique space constraints at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

“I haven’t met too many players that are architects yet,” Rooney said in the same interview. “We’re not opposed to player feedback. But look, we do look at what are benchmarks around the country, what do players need to be successful these days. To be honest with you, we’re not as deep into the, let’s say, assessment of this [practice] facility as we are into the stadium, but that will come. We still have, I think, six or seven years left on our lease here. We’ll work with UPMC and try to start to see where we go here.”

On the business side of the operation, last May, the Steelers promoted former Penguins CEO David Morehouse to an “expanded role” in the organization as executive vice president for strategy, with a focus on the direction of Acrisure Stadium operations. Morehouse first was hired by the Steelers in 2022 as a senior adviser to Rooney.

For the NFLPA, the stated objective to let its players opine anonymously in this way is to help the membership make decisions in free agency and give management teams around the league honest feedback. About 400 more players contributed this year than last year, per Tretter.

“In meetings when they hand out voting sheets for Pro Bowl, Top 11 [players], etc. We’ve seen many toss it in the trash, put down only friends names, make a rookie fill it out, etc.,” longtime NFL star J.J. Watt posted on social media. “The two I’ve seen taken most seriously: — Team Captains (obviously) [and] NFLPA Ownership/Facility Report Card.”

If this collection of responses is merely an assessment of how millionaire athletes feel billionaire ownership accommodates them, then it might not move the needle much for the average fan. But if it’s a reflection of a team that’s trying to do more with less financially and unwilling to spend competitively in a league with no salary cap on coaching staffs or front offices, then perhaps it’s more concerning.

Rooney is never among the wealthiest individuals around the NFL, but the Steelers do have a deep ownership group that includes billionaire Thomas Tull as a shareholder, among others. They also secured what’s believed to be more than $150 million over 15 years in naming rights to call their home venue Acrisure Stadium and annoy a portion of the fanbase, at least temporarily, who clung to the Heinz Field moniker.

“You’ve got 31 other teams trying to maximize everything,” Tull said in a 2022 news conference to discuss the Acrisure move. “They’re trying to beat us. I hate losing. So making sure we had an appropriate deal is very important.”

The Steelers continue their 20-year string of never losing more than they win in any given football season, but they now also have a streak of falling behind the vast majority of their peers in this particular realm. It’s not quite as simple to quickly change the numbers on this scoreboard, though.