According to a report by NFL Network member Ian Rapoport, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters on Thursday that the league still intends for training camp to start on time by the end of July.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a conference call says the plan is to start training camp on time and “prepare for the games in our stadiums and engage our fans both in the stadiums and through our partners in media”. Ongoing talks with NFLPA to decide details.
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 25, 2020
Since the Kansas City Chiefs are slated to open the season against the Houston Texans on Thursday, September 10, that means they will officially open camp at their practice facility on July 25.
According to Rapoport, Goodell said the goal of the league is “to prepare for the games in our stadiums and to involve our fans both in the stadiums and through our media partners,” which would suggest that the league still expects the games. can be played in front of at least some fans. If you hope to get back to some sort of NFL normality, that’s good news.
But other reports released Thursday sent less positive messages about the upcoming season. The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that it will cancel the traditional preseason opening game, the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, and postpone the consecration of the 2020 class of the Hall of Fame until 2021. This suggests that it is More likely In fact, the league will cut the number of preseason games for each team from four to two, a course of action that has reportedly been under discussion for the past few weeks.
From the same media conference call, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported that NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said the decision on the preseason games would come “relatively soon.”
NFL attorney general Jeff Pash says that clubs were informed that the training camp will open as scheduled. “For most clubs, that would be July 28.” No compromise on preseason changes, but decisions will come “relatively soon.”
– Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 25, 2020
Yahoo! sports NFL correspondent Charles Robinson reported that the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is negotiating with the league regarding the “viability” of a full roster of preseason games.
Few fans will likely mourn the loss of a couple of preseason games. But if training camps start as scheduled, this would give teams additional time to get their players back in “soccer form” before they have to get dressed and play, even if they are pointless exhibition contests. This would have a reduced evaluation time cost for rookie players from each team, but since the Chiefs are among the teams with the highest number of returning players and coaches, this is likely to be less of a problem for Kansas City than many other teams.
Also according to Breer, Pash said the league and the NFLPA, previously reported to be considering expanding the practice team from 10 to 16 players this season, are also considering other options.
NFL’s Jeff Pash says the league competition committee and CEC are discussing, and are discussing with the NFLPA, the possibility of special COVID-19 reserve lists for the fall.
– Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) June 25, 2020
Another piece of news that came out of the NFL owners’ virtual meeting Thursday is that the owners approved a proposal that will allow teams to put tarps over the stadium’s seating sections and sell them advertising, an idea that was reported by Sports Business Daily on Wednesday.
According to a plan shared with team presidents Tuesday, the first six to eight rows of seats in each stadium, including suites on the field, will be out of reach for fans this season. That move is officially to protect players, coaches, and team staff from exposure to the coronavirus, but it would also free up that space to become lucrative sponsorship assets.
Sources said those seats will be covered in tarps that could include sponsor logos, similar to how EPL [Premier League soccer] teams reused empty seat sections for announcements during their return to play last week.
The approval of this proposal probably does not guarantee that the games will be played without fans, since it would be possible to use the remaining seats for a limited number of fans who observe the guidelines of social distancing. That said, if the games are played without any According to fans in attendance, advertising revenue could “significantly offset” revenue losses from ticket, concession and parking sales, according to an unidentified NFL sales executive who spoke to SBI.
According to Rapoport, the press conference call also included comments from NFL medical director Dr. Allen Sills, who was asked about reports that new Tampa Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is ignoring Openly the NFLPA’s notice to suspend private training after an Instagram post featuring President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous Depression-era Quote: “The only thing we need to fear is fear itself.”
When asked specifically about Tom Brady, host of player-only #Bucs training, Dr. Sills said, “The NFL and NFLPA are in the same place.” This is “risk reduction and risk mitigation. Players will share the same risk but also the same responsibility with each other.”
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 25, 2020
According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Sills also addressed ongoing discussions between the league and the NFLPA on other issues related to the pandemic.
NFL Medical Director Dr. Allen Sills said “very active discussions” are ongoing with the NFLPA about tests, exams, responses to treatment, and travel during training camp and the season. There is no final plan at this time.
– Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) June 25, 2020
Sills also said the tests alone will not be enough to guarantee a season. Social distancing will continue to be a central focus of the league’s protocol.
– Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) June 25, 2020
So while the Chiefs won’t have their training camp in front of Missouri Western State University fans, for now, it looks like it will start as scheduled at the team’s practice facility. Beyond that, it’s too early to say how the 2020 NFL season will continue, but it seems safe to say that it will be unlike any other in history.
