Which NFL teams have the best weight rooms? Until recently, it was hard to quantify. Many NFL teams have built new training facilities or modernized their old ones in recent years, and there’s a never-ending arms race to out-class your rivals. However, last year it became easier to rank the best, because the NFL Player’s Association issued a report card on the 32 NFL teams based on information provided by 1300 current players.
This year, 1706 players participated. Here’s the 2024 report card, released today. Among the 11 categories ranked from F- to A+ is weight room. In that category, three teams received an A+ from NFL players, and another five earned an A. Two teams, the Falcons and Patriots, received Fs. Ouch. (The Arizona Cardinals went from F- last year to C- this year.)
Seven of last year’s top eight returned. The one change: The Houston Texans (#7 last year) were bumped out by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cowboys made the other big move. They were the fourth team with an A+ weight room last year, but received an A this year and dropped four places. The other three A+ weight rooms stayed the same, with #2 and #3 in a virtual tie again. Miami once again ruled.
Here’s how we distinguished teams with the same A or A+ grades to rank the top eight NFL weight rooms. Most important, of course, is the weight room score. After that, to break ties, we also tabulated the training room (workout and injury recovery facilities) score and the strength staff score. So what follows are the 2024 poll’s three A+’s and five A’s, ranked.
According to NFL players in 2024, these are the best NFL weight rooms.
HONORABLE MENTION NFL WEIGHT ROOMS: RATED A
8. DALLAS COWBOYS
Weight Room: A / Training room: C- / Strength Staff: B+
The Cowboys were fourth last year but slipped to eighth in this year’s player poll. Their training facilities were state-of-the-art when opened in 2016, but standards keep improving.
6. GREEN BAY PACKERS
Weight Room: A / Training Room: B- / Strength Staff: A–
Moving up from #8 last year, the Packers tied their NFC North archrivals for the sixth spot.
6. CHICAGO BEARS
Weight Room: A / Training Room: B+ / Strength Staff: B
The Bears are #6 for the second straight year, but this time in a tie. Their training room ranked a little better than the Packers’, but their strength coaches ranked a little worse.
5. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
Weight Room: A / Training Room: A- / Strength Staff B+
From the outhouse to almost the penthouse: The Jaguars climbed all the way from #30 out of 32 NFL teams last year with a D+ to #5 this year with a weight room A. They did it by updating and expanding their training facilities, which were completed in July 2023. The weight room is now 9420 square feet, plus a 1910-square foot upper cardio deck.
4. MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Weight Room: A / Training Room: A- / Strength Staff: A
The Vikings were #5 last year, but moved into the top four with the Cowboys’ drop. Their scores were virtually the same as last year, and they join the Dolphins as one of two teams with at least an A in all three categories we looked at. Their TCO Performance Center, which opened in 2018, is not especially huge, at around 6000 square feet, including its second-floor cardio deck. But a big plus is the abundance of natural light streaming through the huge glass walls.
BEST NFL WEIGHT ROOMS: RATED A+
3. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS
Weight Room: A+ / Training Room: B+ / Strength Staff: A-
The Raiders were just barely second last year, and, based only on facilities, they tied for second this year. They were only edged out by the Bills via the strength staff score. The Raiders opened their Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in 2021 with its 50,000 square foot “performance center.” Note the silver and black turf right down the middle.
2. BUFFALO BILLS
Weight Room: A+ / Training Room: B+ / Strength Staff: A
Barely edged out for second last year, the Bills returned the favor to the Raiders this year. The Bills spent $18 million to renovate their weight room, which was completed in 2019, tripling its size to an enormous 26,000 square feet. It features a workmanlike, industrial design.
1. MIAMI DOLPHINS
Weight Room: A+ / Training Room: A / Strength Staff: A
Once again, the Dolphins are clearly best. (They had three A+s last year, and nearly matched that perfect score again this year.) The Dolphins weight room, which opened in 2021 as part of their $135 million, 125,000 square foot Baptist Health Training Complex, has everything to earn top honors on this list: newness, space, inspiring design, modern equipment, glass wall for natural light, a slide—wait, what? Yep, it even features a giant, metal slide to travel on your glutes from the upper, cardio deck to the ground floor!
To see who rules NFL weight rooms, check out: 10 Strongest NFL Players Ever
