Allen Lazard joined the Jets with high hopes in 2023, but his experience turned into a major disappointment. The team struggled to meet even some basic needs of its players, including providing quality food.
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“After my first year, they took a million dollars out of the food budget,” Allen Lazard said on the Big Dubs podcast. “That tells me two things, right? How much was in the food budget before? Now, if we put 20 million in and we took a million out, that’s not that big of a deal. If we only put in 4 million and we took a million out, it’s a quarter of the money.
“You can’t downsize in quantity because you still have the same number of people in there that need to eat. So that means you downsize in quality. So I ended up having to be a chef in New York because I couldn’t eat the food at the facility. It would hurt my stomach. I’d be in practice having bubble guts.”
His concerns are understandable. As per the NFLPA’s 2025 team report, the Jets received a C- for their food program and ranked 29th in the NFL. Players were unhappy with the meals, placing their taste 24th and freshness 23rd in the league.
The Jets received a C- for their food program in 2024 as well, placing them at 25th in the NFL alongside other teams. Players were unhappy with the food quality, ranking it 23rd in the league for food taste and 26th in freshness.
After receiving poor feedback about the food program in 2023, the team reduced its food budget instead of improving the meals. The Jets also lost their longtime dietitian, Nicolette Mense, who had been one of the most highly rated members of the staff.
However, the Jets did hire another dietitian after Mense left for Kansas City. The team brought in Carmen Spencer to take over the role.
The Jets were also dealing with salary-cap problems heading into the 2023 season. According to former team scout Daniel Kelly’s report for Sports Illustrated on January 23, 2023, the team was already $2.7 million over the NFL’s salary cap. So, cutting $1 million from the food budget added to the team’s financial constraints.
The team’s overall grade also took a hit. On February 26, 2025, the NFL Players Association released its annual team report cards after surveying 1,695 players across the league. The Jets received an F for ownership, making them the only NFL team to receive that grade in the category.
The Jets also dropped to 29th overall in the rankings, compared to 21st in 2023. Johnson’s ownership grade fell from B- to F, with players giving him the lowest marks for creating a positive team environment.
Surprisingly, instead of responding to the feedback and correcting the problems, the Jets made things worse for their players.
“Rather than addressing concerns, players believed that management responded to feedback by making conditions worse,” the NFLPA said last year. “Unsurprisingly, when asked what needs the most improvement, players overwhelmingly point to the food program, although they are complimentary of their new dietitian.”
Johnson scored just 5.58 out of 10 for his willingness to invest in the team’s facilities, the lowest mark in the league. The criticism came as the Jets prepared to start fresh under head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey.
However, Johnson remained under pressure because the team had not reached the playoffs since the 2010 season. Their struggles continued this season, too, as they sit at 2-6, making another playoff appearance look difficult.