Robert Kraft calls Patriots’ poor grades on NFLPA survey ‘eye-opening,’ denies claim of ashtrays on team plane

The New England Patriots haven’t been winning on or off the field as of late. Over the last two years, the Patriots have just eight combined victory. Not only have they found themselves at the bottom of their division in both seasons, but they also ranked among the bottom of all NFL teams in the last two NFLPA surveys.

The survey was compiled during the 2024 NFL season and included responses from 1,695 players from all 32 teams. The survey is broken down into 11 different categories within teams: treatment of families, food/cafeteria, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and owner.

In the 2024 survey, the Patriots ranked 31st out of 32 teams, ahead of only the Arizona Cardinals. Weight room and team travel received “F” grades, and in eight of the 11 categories the team scored a C+ or lower. The best category was for head coach, giving Jerod Mayo a B+ in his one season leading the team. 

Patriots owner Robert Kraft responded to the criticism, saying it was “eye-opening,” and adding that upgrades are coming. He said the culture changed in the past two years, referencing the final year under Bill Belichick and Mayo’s lone season. 

“It was an eye-opener for me and then I put it in context,” Kraft said. “Going through these last two years and the way things were and the culture was there, it really opened my eyes in a way because we think we’re bonding and we have things, but it just was not a good environment. And we want to do everything we can to make this one of the best places you can go.”

Kraft emphasized wanting to go back to a team that puts checks in the win column, and his goal is to make Gillette Stadium a place players want to call home. He expressed optimism that the team is heading in that direction.

“I think we had that for quite a while in terms of winning and people wanting to come here,” Kraft added. “The last couple of years changed it. Now it’s management and ownership’s job to do everything they can to create the culture that this is a place people want to come to. I really believe it’s happening, and now we have to produce on the field. People have to want to come be in this environment, and we’re trying to do the different things we can to make that happen.”

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One major complaint came was about team travel, and while the Patriots have their own planes, there were comments that there wasn’t Wi-Fi, the planes were small and a surprising note that there were ashtrays in the armrests. Airlines began to ban smoking on flights in the late 1980s and it was banned on domestic flights (less than six hours) in 1990, so questions were raised about just how old these planes were.

Kraft addressed this as well, refuting all claims that there are ashtrays on board.

“First of all, let me just correct — there are no ashtrays on the plane. That goes back 30 years ago,” he said. “Has anyone gone on a plane with ashtrays? There are no ashtrays and I’m willing to take a bet with anyone who says that.”

He continued, saying they are working to upgrade the team’s flight experience, but certain obstacles have been in the way.

“We bought those planes to make it easier for our team to travel. It was very hard pre-COVID to get planes. We’re in the process of trying to update and improve that,” Kraft continued. “We want everything we do to be top of the heap and first class. Rather than having to go out and charter and everything, we wanted to control. We’ve let the planes be used by different charities. They’ve done a lot of good, but they do need an upgrade.”

The other “F” grade, the weight room, will also be addressed soon. In December, the Patriots announced their plans to build a new football-exclusive training facility. It is expected to be done by the spring of 2026.