Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Ownership Has Players Optimistic About Future

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

Denver Broncos ownership consisting of Greg Penner, Carrie Walton-Penner have players optimistic about the future direction of the team. What did the 2025 NFLPA Report Card reveal about the Broncos ownership group? Why did Sean Payton's grade take a negative hit compared to 2023 and why might the Broncos become a free agency destination as the future progresses? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The NFLPA released their report card for various teams around the NFL for 2025. The Denver Broncos, they rank 17th out of 32 teams. We'll tell you why and dive deeper into where the Broncos did well here on this episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Broncos country, what's happening? Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, Your Daily Denver Broncos podcast.

as part of the Lockdown podcast network where you know it is your team every day. Thank you so much to the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thank you for making us your first listen for all your Broncos news, content coverage analysis, and more. You get that here every single day all year long. So make sure you subscribe or follow for free wherever you get your podcast. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert, predominantly orange.com.

And we got a jam-packed episode for you here today, Broncos Country, just in time for NFL free agency. The NFLPA has released their 2025 report card in which players on those teams fill out a survey and it formulates all this data. And then you see it compiled into rankings. And the Broncos, they took a step back from where they were last year. But there were some marks where they impressed here. We'll highlight that. We'll go through our key takeaways from the NFLPA player report card.

But we'll also talk about why Sean Payton dropped significantly in the rankings and analyze maybe why that was. and we'll also kick things off by talking about Bronco's ownership, receiving high remarks from the locker room here on today's episode. The show brought to my friends over there at FanDoole. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get $150 in bonus bets if your first $5.00 of Ed Wins. Download the app right ahead of FanDul.com to get started. Bet with FanDul, the official partner of the NBA, Sarah. Really, right after you and I wrapped up yesterday's episode of the show, the NFLPA Players Association, obviously they released the report. car for 2025 and I think we're all curious to see where are the Denver Broncos going to end up.

I know you and I have speculated on this before. Interesting enough to see Denver drop a spot. They were 16th in 2023. They moved to 17th in 2024 and there were a variety of different changes for better and for worse. Yeah, certainly for better is the ownership obviously really leading the way for the Denver Broncos. And this is huge because of course, just a couple of years ago, Cody, the Broncos did not have ownership. They had the old Pat Bowlin Trust in place. And so now with the Walton-Penner family ownership group, things have turned around significantly for the Denver Broncos.

And obviously, we're kind of just taking a look at your awesome posts over there at Mile High Sports outlining all this stuff. But the ownership was given an A grade, which was fourth best in 2024, up from fifth best in 2023. And there's certain criteria in this, I think are really important to know. the top three being willingness to invest in facilities, contributing to team culture, and then commitment to building a competitive team, Cody. Broncos ownership ranked in the top five of every single one of those categories. And so the players on the team, they're catching the vision from the ownership group from the top down, the commitment to excellence, the commitment to the players.

You're seeing that from the players' opinions. This is not just, I mean, obviously, as we'll outline going forward, like they were brutally honest about certain things. So they have no reason to just say whatever, you know, pump up the ownership with fluff or anything like that. It seems genuinely like this ownership group has turned around the culture of this team dramatically. And I can tell you this.

I believe it, 110% because every day of practice when I'm there, I see Kerry Walton Penner. I see Greg Penner. I see, you know, the Broncos ownership. They are there boots on the ground every single day. Whereas other NFL teams, they don't see their owners around. You know, from time to time, okay, maybe at training camp, but all season long, Carrie Walton Penner is invested in the community.

She's at practice. She goes to players community events, Greg Penner as well. And these guys, they walk around and they talk to players. They get to know what's going on with players. And they really take that feedback in. Like in Greg Penner's first year, really on the job in the NFL, it's how do you do this, right? And players had told me that, you know, they would come up to us and ask us what we feel

like we can improve on. Like what can we improve about the facility? What can we improve in terms of the day to day that would make your guys' life easier? They go around and they talk to players about other players. And you get that idea. Like they're very hands on this ownership group. And Sarah, I think the number one thing to help cement that, obviously the cash richest ownership group in all of American sports at this point,

you look at what Greg Penner is willing to do every year. Halfway through the season, he replaces the field at Empower Field, a mile high just so you can ensure player safety. Right. There's those investments, but none bigger than him saying, you know what, in 2026, we're going to officially have a brand new team facility. Construction has already broke ground on that. It's in the process of being built, 2026, you know, coming up around the corner here for the Broncos. And it's going to improve so many different elements in which we're going to talk about later on on the show's grading.

But to your point here about those three, I'd say pillars in which this ownership ranking comes in about perceiving willingness to invest in facilities. He got an average rating at 9.62, Greg Penner did, out of 10 from Broncos players that ranked four out of 32 owners. When it comes to the players feel that ownership significantly contributes to a positive team culture, that was a rank of five out of 32 teams. And players feel the ownership is extremely committed to building a competitive team, which ranks fifth out of 32 NFL owners right here. That investment, them being hands on, them being collaborative with the players, ownership, I've been so surprised. there because remember when everything was happening. We're like, who's going to become the next owner of the Denver Broncos after the team gets sold? You and I were adamant.

Like it needs to go to the right people and we are worried about the whole Walmart connection. But then Greg Penner, hats off to him. Kerry Walton Penner, they have done such a terrific job with transforming the culture of this team and being so hands-on, which is rare for a lot of NFL owners. It is rare. And that's why the players, I think, have optimism for the future. because when you see that your ownership has a willingness to invest in the betterment of your team and they'll do whatever it takes to win games, like, why would you not want to be part of that, right?

And for the players to see that and for the players to kind of get that, it's not just, hey, we're writing this stuff on the wall. Like you said, they're putting boots on the ground. So there's a huge difference between, you know, putting statements or phrases or like, you know, big, uh, big ideas on the wall and seeing them every day and actually like living it out on the day to day or putting the proof in the pudding where your players can see like, okay, the ownership is committed to helping us win. Like they're going to invest a couple hundred thousand dollars to change the field in the

middle of the season. Like they want us to be healthy. They want us to play well. They want to do whatever they can to help. And so I think that's what's critical, right? Like you and I talked about in the search for ownership, it was really, how can you find somebody that's going to honor Pat Bowlin as best as they possibly can, right? And I love that we get to see photos after every game of the ownership group meeting players at the locker room, you know, seeing them as they go in to celebrate wins, giving them high fives, things like that.

The personal aspect of the ownership, I think, is huge because there has to be trust from the players. And that's not always the case around the NFL. And I think organizationally, it contributes the most direct to your health. And that's why Sean Payton ultimately, when he was hired by the Broncos, he said, like, you want stability. in that ownership area. I think there's a big reason why Sean Payton was willing to come to Denver in the first place, even though this ownership group was just getting its feet wet in terms of running an NFL team.

So it's really great for the Denver Broncos to have a top five ownership group in terms of the players voting because I think that bodes well for every single transaction they're going to make now and going forward. Well, and I think another element of this NFL PEA player report card that gets put out there, I think this is a valuable tool for free agency for teams who are, you know, for players who are looking to go elsewhere. And I think the ownership appeal here, so many players want to play for an organization that has stability at the

ownership position and also a commitment to excellence, right? I think the Walton-Penter family ownership group, they have that. But, and you look at like the New York Jets and Woody Johnson who got an F. I'm sure if they could give an F-minus, Woody Johnson would have gotten that. Like, that's where you look at just how important it is. You can own an NFL team, but do you connect with your team? Do you put your team in a position to succeed?

For them to be as fresh as they are, they have shown a willingness to learn, to listen and collaborate, which people in a powerful position like that don't normally do that, Sarah. So the hats off to obviously the Walton Penner family ownership group ranking top five in terms of overall player approval rating and also the belief in the optimism for the future,

which means that, hey, players believe that this team is in good hands going forward. And that, I think, can be a massive selling point potentially to other free agents. And I think it makes Denver a little bit more of an appealing destination. Broncos, you want to know your thoughts on Denver's ownership ranking in the NFLPA 2025 player report card. We're not done though on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. We've got a lot to discuss.

And quite frankly, John Payton dropping significantly in terms of his grade and his ranking in comparison to 2023. What factored into that? We'll break that down and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by friends over there. at Fandul, America's number one sportsbook. And when the game tips off, the NBA action is just getting started, even though the NFL season has passed us by for now.

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If the NFLPA report card is any indication, Denver Broncos head coach, Sean Payton, has quite a bit of room for improvement in 2025, in terms of his overall approval rating. What did the NFLPA report card reveal about what Broncos players think of Sean Payton? Why did he receive such a low grade this year? And what can we done about it going forward?

Well, we're going to discuss that on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. But Broncos country, appreciate every single one of you so much for those of you that make Locked on Broncos your first listen of the day every single day. And if you're not already an everyday listener, hey, we'd appreciate it. Take a couple seconds.

Hit subscribe if you're on YouTube or if you're on YouTube or if you're you're listening to a podcast, man, add us to the top of your cue so you don't miss a single episode of the show, especially in the off season where you never know what is going to happen. And when, uh, Cody, let's talk about this because I think you and I both agree. Sean Payton is one of the best head coaches in the NFL. And certainly over the last 20 years, I'd say he's maybe top top 20, top 25 amongst head coaches, certainly. He's, I, I hold him in extremely high regard. Now, I don't work with him every day either. So I don't exactly know what he's like to work for. I feel like Sean has done a great job of changing and setting a new culture in

Denver, at least from the outside looking in. But the NFLPA report card was not overly kind to Sean Payton, who ranked 26. He received a B grade. So I mean, it could be worse. You know, if you're bringing home Bs, like you might your mom or dad might be telling you, hey, you need to get that be up to an A, but it's not necessarily you're getting grounded for a week. I think, Cody, the fact that he's 26th overall in the NFL is the staggering thing to me. What are your thoughts on this? Because you talk with Sean, you know, every single week during the season, you see what it's like, you talk to the players.

Why do you think his rating came in so low on this NFLPA report card? Well, I think when you look at the overall variance of the grading, right? I think this is important to keep into consideration when you're looking at it because 26, but you look at that, 26 out of 32, it's like, whoa, what's going on? You mentioned it's a B grade, right? There are a handful of other coaches around the league that factor in ahead of him right now that have A plus ratings, A ratings, A minus ratings, B plus B. And then obviously, you know, he's in there in the B category there. So it's hard to evaluate in that standpoint, right?

Obviously, he takes a step back over on his ranking, whereas in 2023, he had an A minus grade really in his first season there. And there was a lot of controversy in 2012. As we saw with how the whole Russell Wilson situation played out there, benching in for the final two games, losing out on the playoffs, you know, against the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve. There were a lot of things that maybe factored in negatively. And obviously, Peyton coming in, his first year had to establish the standard, right? His training camp was not easy.

That was one thing players talked about. But players felt like it was beneficial because it had them more ready, more prepared to play throughout the season. Obviously, we saw they stayed healthy throughout the entire 2023 season, in terms of not having major injuries first, in terms of games overall missed on injury reserved by players there. For Sean and this one specifically, let's go through the criteria right now.

Last year, obviously he ranked 17th with an A minus grade. The reasoning behind this, okay, now 80% of Broncos players feel that Sean Payton is efficient with their time, which is a ranking of 27 out of 32, right? So 80%. So what is the sample size? What does that 20% look like? It varies, right?

But from what I can tell you, the Broncos and Sean have a really, really tight structure around the day to day of players, right? You know, we always dispel the myth that Broncos players, you know, NFL players, they just show up to practice, they go home and then they go play on Sundays. It's not the case. It is 13 to 14 hours a day at the team facility. It is a legitimate full-time job for them. And he's got good structure around individual meetings, team meetings, special teams meetings, treatment, recovery, lunch, practice. Like it is very structured.

I don't think that's an issue here for the Broncos. Now, I think where I find a little confusion is, it says here, the players feel that Peyton is moderately receptive to locker room feedback on the team's needs, ranking him 29 of 32 head coaches in the league. Now, to me, Sarah, where I find this to be a little unclear, is this feedback on stuff in the locker room? Is this have to do with issues, life, practice, whatever it may. B, is it Peyton's Way or the Highway?

This doesn't give us really any indication of that, but they feel that he's moderately receptive to locker room feedback. I don't know what that entails because they really don't describe it here. Yeah, I don't really know what to make of it either. I'm looking at some of the other teams on this list, you know, like the Washington commanders, Dan Quinn, for example, he got an A plus that he ranked first out of all 32 teams. It said that 100% of commanders players felt that Quinn was efficient.

with their time, which is really interesting. Crazy to think about. Yeah, it's crazy to think 100% efficiency. And it says that the players feel like Quinn is highly receptive to locker room feedback on the team's needs, like you said. Like that's very vague. Like what are the team, are we saying, hey, if somebody goes to Sean Payton and is like, hey, we should trade for this guy.

He's like, no, we're not doing that. Is that being receptive or not receptive to the team's needs? Or is it more so like, hey, I need to go home for the day. I know, I've got something. going on with my kid tonight or whatever. And he's, I don't know. I have no idea what that is,

so you're right. It's like, it is very vague. But I don't think we necessarily need to move the goalposts on this to kind of figure out that like, look, I mean, there's,

there's room for improvement for whatever it is. Like, whatever the team's needs are, maybe there's better ways for them to be met or, you know, maybe receptivity could be better on Sean Payton's part. I know that in the first two years that he's been in Denver, it's,

you know, what did he say after the first? year that he was there like he's peeing on fire hydrants you know to try to make sure that the players know like things are going to be done his way uh and what's interesting to me is that a lot of the players that were from the previous regime were let go of after last season so the 2024 roster is much more indicative of a team that is built by sean peyton then was the 2023 team and so you would kind of figure okay well his rating should go up these are players that he's picked to be here as opposed to players who are being forced to work with them essentially.

And so I'm, I don't know, I'm kind of confused by this. I don't know. Maybe the listeners can give us some of their perception on this in the comments. I would love to know from players directly, like what could have contributed to this low ranking. Because it is, I mean, we used to say 100% for another coach around the league. That's pretty crazy to say that Sean Payton's was 80%. And another coach had 100%.

That's a huge variance there. Yeah, no, it is. And but I also think we can even take an account of what we've heard from players here. Like Sarah, I've been in the locker room every day during the regular season talking to guys. They love Sean Payton. And look, there are some guys like, you know, hey, like Peyton's going to tell you how it is. It's not always going to be easy.

He's not going to tell you things that you want to hear. He's going to tell you things that you need to hear. And look, he's a tough old school coach. He's cut from that Bill Parcell's tree. I think Sean finds perfect balance between the Bill Parcell style of how he coaches, even his own coaches, as we've seen, you know, in terms of cameras on the sideline, seeing him chewing out some guys there. But also just he finds balance with doing things that, you know, build trust with the players.

I think that kind of stands out here. Like I said, I think the variance with, you know, guys like Dan, Dan Quinn getting the 100% rating. There could be coaches out there. They had a 99% rating, 98, 97, 96. And then you take it all the way up to 80. And it's like, oh, 80, that's 26th. In the NFL, it's not concerned. Now, if it was bottom ranked and he had like a C minus or a D plus, I think I would be a little bit more concerned.

But I just know that players love Sean Payton. I even want to go back to what Nick Benito said on the pivot podcast about how Sean is and the way that he coaches and about the culture. He said, you know, we had a culture where guys were just okay with losing. He said, you know, at the end of the season, guys are going, okay, hey, Cancun on three, one, two, three, cancun. He said, wait a minute, that's weird. He said, I'm not built like that. And so those guys are gone. on as you have talked about here.

So coming in and changing the culture, you might ruffle some feathers, but I think it's all about that buying. I think for the most part, the team is pretty bought into what Sean Payton has. And it's led to what? A 10 and 7 record in 2024. It's never going to be easy, but man, it is a journey there. And I think the struggle in today's game is trying to find the perfect bounce between being like not an authoritarian coach in a sense, being a very good leader, being collaborative,

but also being able to set your foot down. say, hey, we can't keep doing this. We have to change the way that we're doing things and having that fine line there. To me, I think that's where the balance of trying to be, you know, a coach for like Sean Payne, it's hard to change who he's been as a coach based on like who you coach with. I coached a certain way because of the coaches that I had and the coaches that I coached with. Like, it isn't easy. And so I don't think, I think this is a big nothing burger overall in terms of like 26 out of 32.

Oh my gosh, what's going on in Broncos land as people say. I'm not worried about it one bit. But Broncos country, we want to know your thoughts on Sean Payton's NFL PA grade from the 2025 NFLPA report card. Are you concerned with his ranking or do you think it is just fodder? Make sure you let us know here, Lockdown Broncos. We've got a lot to talk about still on today's episode show. There are so many different categories like locker room and treatment of families where the Broncos either ranked a little bit higher or they took a step backwards out.

We're going to go through the remainder of the NFLPA's report card on the Broncos here on today's episode of the show. How did the Denver Broncos grade out and the rest of the 2025 NFLPA report card? They improved in some areas even though they took a step back in a ranking. And then they took a step back in some areas where obviously they were a little bit higher on the year prior. We'll break down all that on today's show. I just want to say thanks once again to the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so, you know, when you need Broncos content that's fresh objective to the point and no fluff,

you go to lockdown Broncos every single day because your boy, Sarah Bedinger, Cody, work, we got you, covered every single day all year long because for the true fan there is never in off season. Sarah, let's go through the rest of these here. We talked about ownership. We talked about head coach. Interesting categories. I think all across the board and you see where some teams do really well. You see where some teams do really, really bad.

The Broncos, when it comes to team travel, they got an A grade, which is sixth overall in 2024. That's an improvement from the B minus and the 10th place ranking in 2023. The reasoning behind that, Sarah, 98% of Broncos. players believe that they have a comfortable amount of personal space on team flights, which ranks them third out of 32. And then the players feel that their team's travel schedule is not very efficient, a rank of 25 out of 32 teams.

So you go for some really good stuff. Hey, we got a lot of personal space, but we don't feel that our travel schedule is very efficient. Some background on that. If there was an East Coast game that the Broncos are playing on on Sunday, Sean Payton would have them leave following practice on Friday, so they would get an extra day at the hotel. Also, we know that after week three,

when they played the Tampa Bay Buckiners, they went straight from Tampa Bay to West Virginia at the Greenbrier, where they were there for a whole week. I can tell you this, a lot of players were not very happy about that. A lot of players did not want to go to West Virginia, though I think it's a great team bonding exercise. They didn't have a choice,

but it was not very well received by a large portion of the players. Right. It reminded me when they were doing that of the scene from Remember the Titans. you know, where, uh, where coach Boone takes all the players out to Gettysburg and, you know, gives them the, he's like, we're getting up at, you know, early in the morning. So it's like, I mean, I guess, yeah, what's good for you isn't always well received at the time. But I think obviously it did help. I mean, the Broncos went on a winning streak at that point.

So, I mean, you never know what's going to flip on the light switch there. I found that to be interesting as well, Cody, excuse me, strength coaches ranking a 30th in the NFL. no change from last year, although the grade did improve. So I guess there's something to be said for that. The Broncos players, I guess the majority feel like they get good individualized training plans, but really feeling like the strength coaches only moderately contribute to their overall success. And so maybe that's something that, you know, Dan Dalrymple and his staff can really

improve upon this year is making the players feel like, hey, the strength staff here really contributes to what we do and to, you know, our overall output. put on the field. The weight room, similarly, Cody, not ranking super high. I mean, 27th out of 32 in terms of weight room equipment, which hopefully the new training, you know, building that they put together will really improve this overall grade, although we'll have to wait a couple of years for that. And having adequate space kind of middle of the pack.

So weight room, weight training staff and those sorts of things, I guess, kind of just middle of the pack or worse in terms of the rankings on this list. Well, in terms of strength coaches, obviously, you know, I think Dan Dalrymple definitely didn't get the best rating here. But it is, I feel like it's important to note there. It says here under strength coaches, players specifically complement the work of the assistant strength coaches, saying they are the ones providing high quality programming and dedicated support. So maybe it's like Dan Dalrymple is bad cop and the assistant strength coaches, they're good cop, right? On coaching staffs, I can tell you this, you always have bad cop and you always have the coach who's good cop.

guarantee you Sean Payton probably most of the time tells his guys, like, I'm going to be bad cop. Some of you guys, he's designated. You be the good cop in this situation, you know, when it comes to a player or personnel, whatever it may be. That's kind of the hierarchy of coaching structures there. But I find that to be interesting. I agree with you in terms of the weight room. I do know that the Broncos plan here for the new weight room.

It is going to be expanded overall in space. They're going to have brand new state-of-the-art equipment as well. And so I imagine when the new team facilities finished, this grade will probably improve drastically, which overall, I think, is going to increase the perception of teams and players wanting to come to Denver and things like that. Training staff is up next, and we'll go in training staff, training room here. Training staff received a B-plus, which ranks 12th overall in 2024. Last year, they had a B grade, which ranked 11th in 2020.

So you see the variance in terms of the grading scale. You can have a higher grade, but you can still take a step back based on if other teams have higher grades in comparison. The reasoning behind it in terms of the data, 89% of Broncos players report that they receive enough one-on-one training treatment, ranking them 12 out of 32 teams. The players feel that their training staff moderately contributes to their overall success, which ranks them 14 out of 32.

The training room B, obviously that's 14th in 2024. Last year was a B minus, which was 17th in 2023. And the reasoning behind that is 96% of Broncos players feel that they have enough full-time trainers, ranking them fifth out of 32 teams. 91% of the players feel that they have enough full-time physical therapy. therapists, 57% of players feel that they have enough hot tub space and 90% of the players feel that they have enough cold tub space. So it kind of goes to show maybe players like the cold tub a little bit less than obviously like the hot tub. Like hot tub is always going to be popular.

A lot of space there in that cold tub because, hey, not anybody, not everybody wants to get ice cold there, though I think it is very therapeutic. But I will say this has been a very important part for Greg Penner, for Sean Payton and the team with Bowler, overseeing this transition of the training room. It has improved. And when the new team facility, even the training room space is going to expand. And if Beau feels like they need to add more physical therapists, things like that, trainers, they will do that.

So this is an area I think is pretty good here for Denver. Yeah. And it's an area that, I mean, Greg Penner himself got in front of a microphone back in January and like specifically called out like how excited he was about this. So Cody, I'm a little surprised, honestly. to see the feedback from the players is even remotely middle of the pack. I mean, I guess if the Broncos are being dragged down by their hot tub space, that's really fascinating to me.

I couldn't help, but I was laughing as you were saying that. I mean, and I can't help it because I want to get to a point in my life where I'm complaining about the lack of hot tub space at my workplace, which is my home. Unfortunately, I'm not there yet, Broncos country. So that's why we need the everyday listeners out there, Cody. but no, in all seriousness, I think that this is an area, this was maybe, you know, besides the locker room being graded in F, Cody, which last year it was rated a D-26th in the NFL this year rated an F, or graded an F, excuse me, ranking 30th in the league. That was surprising to me because I know that there was a, you know, a new locker room built at the stadium, but obviously the players' locker room that they use on a day-to-day at the facility is not the same thing. So they spend very little time in the game day locker room by comparison to the amount of time they probably spend in the locker room at the team facility.

So there's a big difference there for anybody that's listening. It was like, hey, I remember seeing pictures posted on social media not that long ago of a brand new locker room. They barely ever are in that locker room, right? So I think to me, the discrepancy, though, between what the ownership feels about the training staff and their success and their contribution to the team's success compared to what they're, the players feel. Now that, that presents an interesting little bit of tension there because I feel like from Greg Penner to Sean Payton to George Payton, they all feel like Bo Lowry is the best in the business. And the players are sitting here saying that, hey, this is like barely above average. Yeah. I mean, it's part of me is wondering if it has to do with space too.

I know players love Bo like I talk to a couple of players. I even talk to Bo Lauerie this season because I have a completely torn ACL on my left knee. It's shredded. And I, I'm not going to get surgery. I can't afford it. It's crazy. I don't want to go through that right now. But Bo actually gave me some really good tips on what I could do to continue to strengthen my quads and my posterior chain to avoid, you know,

impacting it, you know, more further negatively there. Players say he's a beast. They're like, man, Bo's a beast. Like Tyler Badey loves that guy. Like any player I've spoken to that's coming off of an injury, they're like, this guy, he knows exactly what he's doing. I don't think it's more so aimed at Bo. I think more so it has probably to do with space.

And, you know, obviously sometimes, like some players, they don't want to play, like, they don't want to let anyone know if they're injured, right? Because obviously, if you're trying to get a contract, that can impact you in some way, shape or form sometimes. So sometimes guys play through the pain and they grin through it. And sometimes they're forced to go to treatment a little bit. But, you know, you got no choice. You got to take care of your body.

It is obviously, you know, very pristine there in that regard here. I find it interesting as well. Like obviously the locker room, the real complaint is about size and space. Like when we go in there for open locker room access, like the lockers I mean it's a little bit about shoulder width like inside the frame of this you know podcast frame right here it's not a lot so guys can sit there and guys can stand there but when there's a media scrum other players can't get to their lockers if they're around one player so that's a sizing issue it's a space issue that's obviously going to be taking care of

when the new team facility is finally completed um i would say the nutritionist dietitian the broncos have dedicated a staff to that as well more personalized new individualized nutrition plans for players to help them hit their protein goals, weight goals. Sean Payton's very big about certain players' positions, being at a certain weight for playing, shape, things like that. This was a huge area emphasis for Greg Penner on them. The food and dining area comes in at a B plus. It's fine overall.

Treatment of families improved from a D plus, which was 21st and 2023 to C-minus 23 and 24. The Broncos have added a family room at the team stadium for games where after the game, families can go out there with their kids and they can hang out in there, but it's a room, right? And that's because you can't build a new stadium just yet. If the Broncos build a new one, this will get bigger. But the only complaint here is really that the Broncos have this outdoor,

outdoor area, you know, where the tunnel is where players run out for the game. After the games, that's where families get to meet their players. So when you're talking about the winter cold conditions or you're talking about September works really hot, though, I would say 425 p.m. mountain time, five o'clock mountain time in September. It's not necessarily that hot. So I don't know if that's, I think it's more so cold related. That's the biggest complaint is that they just wish they had an indoor area where they

could all gather. They have a small one, but it's not big enough when you have a 53 man roster. So overall, this comes out to Denver ranking 17 out of 32 teams in the NFLPA report card. We'll see how much of this changes going into 2026. I know we're very curious to do the comparison next year. But also when the new team facility is built, how does that rectify a lot of the issues? A lot of exciting things ahead here,

Broncos country. I'll wrap up today's episode of the show. Sarah and I, we appreciate you so much for making us your first listen today and for all of you who are everydayers. If you're not in every day already, make sure you become one so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team. NFL Free Agency is creeping up one step closer. And Sarah Bettinger, myself,

we're going to start taking a look at a further deep dive in NFL Free Agency. Plus, there could be some roster moves on the way. We'll break all that down. And much more on Monday's episode. Lockdown Broncos. We'll see you then.