Employers take different approaches to employee benefits and NFL teams are no different, as former NFL players Ross Tucker and Darren Waller explained during a recent interview.
A journeyman offensive lineman-turned podcast host, Tucker asked the recently retired Waller about his experiences playing for the Ravens, Raiders and Giants.
‘I like the Giants a lot,’ Waller told Tucker. ‘You can tell the ownership and the people upstairs are very present. I think that was the first team I was on that paid for your massages and acupuncture and all those little things. [They] took that off of your plate.’
Tucker had a different experience playing for the rival Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.
‘None of my teams paid for massages,’ Tucker wrote online after the interview went live. ‘Heck, the Cowboys payroll deducted for lunch.’
Darren Waller said the Giants treated him particularly well: ‘They just do things the right way’
Ross played for the Cowboys in 2002 as ‘America’s Team’ went 5-11 for coach Dave Campo.
Waller is not alone in his appreciation for the Giants, who ranked ninth in the NFL Players Association’s annual team report cards last year.
The Giants are known to regularly welcome players’ families to the facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey and have an annual family day during training camp.
‘They just do things the right way,’ Waller told Tucker. ‘The way they treat families coming up for training camp and getting all that set up – it’s just those little things that matter that show they care about individual players.’
Not every NFL team is so well liked.
The Atlanta Falcons got an ‘F’ in the 2024 player survey as some complained there is a lack of toilets and the bathroom ventilation is poor.
The Giants team cafeteria in East Rutherford, New Jersey is popular among league players
New York Giants cafeteria employees are seen in their new facility back in 2009
The Bengals have also faced plumbing issues.
‘… half of the showers in their locker room don’t function properly, lacking either warm water or sufficient water pressure,’ read the survey findings.
‘They also mention persistent plumbing issues, leaving them with only five functioning toilets for the entire team.’
But no team’s bathroom situation is quite as dire as the Buccaneers’, according to the survey.
‘The players say the locker room is not clean, constantly smelly and has a persistent bug issue in the showers,’ read the report. ‘They also mention that the sauna is dirty and/or moldy, small and constantly breaking down.’
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