Family treatment is obviously very important to the Dallas Cowboys.
Football is family. We have heard that over and over. It stands to reason that family is an important part of your football-enjoying experience, and if we have learned anything about the Dallas Cowboys organization over the last few years, then it is obviously important to them.
Recall that the Cowboys ranked 10th in the NFLPA report cards that came out in February and received solid marks relative to treatment of families. We all care about the Cowboys having success on the football field, but if they are not treating the families of the players properly then it would likely bother you, me and all of us on some level. We want to root for people who are doing things the right way.
Recently, ESPN looked a little bit more deeply at the treatment of families angle that the NFLPA report cards have dissected in the past. It is clear and evident that the Cowboys really want to make sure the families of their players feel valued.
The Dallas Cowboys provide child care on game days, but the fun starts before that. The day before a Sunday game at AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys host players’ families for lunch, bringing in things like ice cream trucks and coffee trucks. The Cowboys call it FIT, or family ice cream time, which allows “time for our significant others to be up here around each other,” Cowboys right tackle Terence Steele said.
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After home games, Cowboys special teams ace C.J. Goodwin, the second-longest tenured Cowboy, knows where his family will be: the Landry Room. Named after the Cowboys Hall of Fame coach, it’s a private club area inside AT&T Stadium. Each player gets two free tickets to the area, which includes food, drinks and “anything you want.”
Cowboys players rated the post-game family area 9.05 out of 10, ranking them second out of 32 teams.
If you follow players on social media then you have likely seen them share photos from the Landry Room following games. Having a place to meet, gather and reflect on the game at hand is a good thing. It is obviously a lot more fun after a win.
Beyond doing the right thing, being good people and all of that jazz, these types of things are also something that can go a long way in free agency. The Cowboys are fortunate to operate in a climate that makes living near the team facility a good option all year long. This isn’t necessarily something that happens with other teams. Players live elsewhere in the offseason.
Having amenities like that, and caring for the families of the players, can help lure players who are available in free agency (if the Cowboys ever wanted to make a serious splash there, haha). At the very least it is nice to know that they are taken care of.
Good for the Cowboys for getting that part of things right.
