Even after an arbitrator recently ruled they couldn’t be disclosed publicly, ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler was able to obtain the NFLPA’s leaked 2026 NFL team report cards—including that of the Indianapolis Colts:
Indianapolis Colts
Treatment of Families: B
Home Game Field: D
Food/Dining Area: B
Nutritionist/Dietician: A-
Locker Room: C+
Training Room: B
Training Staff: B+
Weight Room: B
Strength Coaches: A
Position Coaches: B
Offensive Coordinator: B
Defensive Coordinator: B+
Special Teams Coordinator: B+
Team Travel: B-
Head Coach: A-
General Manager: A
Team Ownership: A
Overall Rank: 17
As a reminder, these are grades given out by each team’s players via an annually conducted NFLPA survey.
Here are some of this year’s highlights:
- Even though the Colts recently installed new artificial turf, Hellas Matrix Helix turf, back in July of 2024, they were still given a poor ‘D’ grade for their Lucas Oil Stadium playing surface. That change was made as part of a regular 4-year replacement cycle and to meet the NFLPA’s own recommendations that NFL clubs switch from their prior slit-film turf to monofilament turf (via the Indianapolis Star).
- While some blame the Colts artificial home playing surface for their players’ seemingly frequent injuries, ironically enough, the players actually gave their strength coaches an “A” grade here.
- The Colts top leadership trio of ownership (A), general manager (A), and head coach (A-) all received excellent grades—which given their lack of recent team success, is at least a bit surprising at both general manager and head coach at least. The recently transitioned ownership under the three Irsay daughters, with Carlie Irsay-Gordon as team owner and CEO at the forefront, has brought new energy, perspective, and may even aggressiveness (i.e., looking at the Sauce Gardner trade deadline deal) compared to her late father in his later years. Meanwhile, I won’t beat a dead horse on the lack of winning by both the Colts head coach and longtime GM anymore, but it does appear that they still have their players’ respect regardless. Ballard has always been lauded for being upfront and for his candor in private conversations, and maybe received an extra bump here by being loyal internally—and often retaining his own players ahead of free agency.
In the end, the Colts ranked 17th, so slightly worse than league average. However, they’ve gone from 22nd in 2024, to 19th in 2025, and now, to 17th, so they’ve been gradually making small improvements each year.
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