Broncos Embrace Player Feedback, Push Forward with New Facility and Unified Vision
The NFLPA's annual team report cards might not be hitting the public eye this year, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost their impact - especially in Denver. While an arbitrator ruled that the NFL Players Association can’t publish the results due to concerns over methodology and potential disparagement of teams and personnel, the union isn’t backing off.
The surveys are still happening. And for teams that are paying attention, the feedback remains a valuable tool.
Count the Broncos among those teams.
While the league and the union continue to wrestle over how the report cards are compiled - with the NFL arguing that the NFLPA selectively highlighted certain responses to push a narrative - Denver’s ownership isn’t caught up in the politics. Instead, they’re focused on what the players are saying and how to respond.
“I think we get some good input from that,” Broncos owner Greg Penner said recently. “And we’ve tried to be responsive.”
That responsiveness is showing in a big way. The Broncos are already addressing one of the biggest knocks from last year’s survey: the team’s locker room.
Players gave it an “F” - and Penner didn’t ignore it. In fact, it’s one of the driving reasons behind the construction of the new Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit, a state-of-the-art facility designed to bring the team’s operations under one roof.
“The last couple of surveys, our players have said our locker room’s not great. It’s too small,” Penner said.
“We might’ve gotten an ‘F’ on that, and that’s why we’re building a new facility. Not the only reason, but one.”
That kind of transparency - and action - is part of what’s earned Penner high marks from his players. In the 2025 report card, Denver players gave the owner an “A,” a rare nod of approval in a league where ownership often feels distant from the locker room.
The rest of the report card was a mixed bag: Bs across most categories, As in areas like nutrition and travel, but a C- for treatment of families and that glaring F for the locker room. Still, the overall picture is one of a team that’s listening - and evolving.
And it’s not just about facilities. Penner’s approach to leadership is resonating throughout the organization.
He’s present. He’s engaged.
But he knows when to step back.
“I think what’s important is for our players to know that we care about their success, and we want to enable them to perform at the highest level that’s possible for them,” Penner said. “We care about their families, their involvement in the communities, those types of things.”
This isn’t about playing favorites or being everybody’s best friend. It’s about building trust and showing commitment - not just in words, but in actions.
That’s why Penner makes it a point to be visible at practices and around the team. It’s why he’s investing in infrastructure that directly impacts player performance.
The new Broncos Park is a big part of that vision. The entire first level will be dedicated to players - from the expanded locker room to a modernized weight room, all directly tied into the practice fields. It’s a facility designed with performance in mind, but also cohesion.
“We think we will get a lot of benefit from having those people together in one place,” Penner said.
That same sense of cohesion extends to the front office. Penner has built a working relationship with head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton that’s rooted in trust and open dialogue. He’s not trying to make football decisions - he’s there to ask questions, provide support, and let the football minds do what they do best.
“My style is more to probe and ask lots of questions,” Penner explained. “If the two of them agree on something and recommend it, it would be pretty unlikely that I’d ever overrule that.”
It’s a hands-on approach without being heavy-handed, and it’s working. Payton and Paton are aligned in how they want to build the roster, and that clarity is translating into a more focused front office.
Paton, for his part, has been impressed with Payton’s attention to detail and passion for the personnel side of the game.
“You know how much he loves the draft process and the personnel process,” Paton said. “Not only does he love it, he’s really good at it.
He knows what he wants. He articulates it really well to all of the scouts, so we all know what a Denver Bronco player at this position should look like.”
It’s early days yet, but the signs are promising. The Broncos aren’t just reacting - they’re building. From the locker room to the front office, there’s a clear vision, and more importantly, there’s alignment from top to bottom.
Winning in the NFL is never easy. But in Denver, the foundation is being laid - quite literally - for sustained success.