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.
Tucker, a veteran offensive lineman turned podcast host, 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 at the top 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 your hands.”
Tucker had a different experience playing for rivals Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.
“None of my teams paid for massages,” Tucker wrote online after the interview was published. “Heck, the Cowboys payroll deducted my 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” and had a 5-11 record under coach Dave Campo.
Waller isn’t the only one who appreciates the Giants, who ranked ninth on 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 hold an annual family day during training camp.
“They just do things the right way,” Waller told Tucker. “The way they treat families coming to training camp and getting everything ready — it’s just those little things that matter and show they care about individual players.”
Not all NFL teams are so beloved.
The Atlanta Falcons got an ‘F’ in The 2024 Player Survey As some complained, there are no bathrooms and poor bathroom ventilation.
The Giants’ team cafeteria in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is popular with league players.
New York Giants cafeteria employees are seen at their new facility in 2009
The Bengals have also faced plumbing issues.
“…half of the showers in their locker rooms do not work properly, either due to lack of hot water or lack of sufficient water pressure,” reads the survey results.
‘They also cite persistent plumbing issues, leaving them with only five working bathrooms for the entire crew.’
But no team’s bathroom situation is as dire as the Buccaneers’, according to the survey.
“Players say the locker room is not clean, constantly smells bad and there is a persistent insect problem in the showers,” the report reads. “They also mention that the sauna is dirty and/or moldy, small and constantly breaks down.”