Emphasizing that “we want to play,” Houston Texans star JJ Watt released a list of questions that NFL players must answer before they can open training grounds.
The Texans are supposed to open the regular season on Thursday, September 10 in Kansas City, with rookies from both teams slated to show up for camp on Saturday.
Watt, who said he was part of four NFL Players Association calls with hundreds of players in the past two weeks, posted the questions on Twitter, beginning and ending his post with “We want to play.”
In the interest of having everyone on the same page in terms of what we know and what we don’t know right now, here are a few things I’ve learned from four NFLPA calls in the past two weeks with hundreds of other players.
Please note that our newbies are scheduled to report within 48 hours pic.twitter.com/wAH1XyQenf
– JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 16, 2020
The NFL responded to the NFLPA’s counterproposal on coronavirus-related reopening protocols Tuesday night, with a major unsolved issue whether COVID-19 should be classified as a non-soccer-related injury, a source said. ESPN’s Dan Graziano. NFL teams that put players on the list of non-soccer injuries are not required to pay them.
A source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN that among the requests in the players’ recent proposal were opt-out clauses for at-risk players (receive salary but not bonuses), players with at-risk families (earn cumulative season and benefits) and players who leave their team after reporting (uncertain terms) if they choose not to play.
Players are also requesting a guaranteed $ 250,000 stipend from all players if they show up for camp and everything closes due to COVID-19 concerns. That amount increases to $ 500,000 if the season begins, only to be closed, the source told Fowler.
The NFLPA also wants coronavirus testing every day and no preseason games this year, while the league wants less frequent tests (like every other day) and two preseason games, the source told Fowler.
Hovering over the discussions is the increase in coronavirus cases in states like Texas, Arizona and California, and the growing possibility that those states will soon implement closure provisions that would limit large gatherings. If that happens, teams in those states may not be able to conduct training camps. An earlier NFL-NFLPA agreement stipulates that teams must conduct boot camps at their own team’s facilities this year, and that if any team is unable to open its facilities, no other team may open its facilities.
It is unclear when the NFL and NFLPA will resume formal talks, but they are expected to speak again soon.
.
