NFL teams that report a COVID-19 outbreak will risk forfeited games in the upcoming season.
Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to every team on Thursday outlining the league’s strategy for handling the pandemic after the NFL did not cancel any games during the 2020 season, though several games were rescheduled amid outbreaks.
TOP GEORGIA OFFICIAL SAYS GOP CANDIDATES’ 2020 SKEPTICISM FUELED BY TRUMP ENDORSEMENT HOPE
“If a game cannot be rescheduled with the current 18-week schedule and is canceled due to a COVID outbreak among unvaccinated players on one of the competing teams, that club will forfeit the contest,” the memo stated, per NFL Network. “If a game is canceled and cannot be rescheduled within the current 18-week schedule and is canceled due to a COVID outbreak, neither team’s players will receive their weekly” paycheck.
Goodell also retains the power to add “additional sanctions” to teams if an outbreak forces a cancellation, the memo said.
The league does not plan on extending its 18-week season, which begins Sept. 10, if games get canceled, which could make forfeits more likely given the in-season constraints.
“More than 75 percent of players are in the process of being vaccinated, and more than half the clubs have vaccination rates greater than 80 percent of their players,” the memo said.
The news prompted snap reactions.
Arizona Cardinals star wide receiver Deandre Hopkins said in a now-deleted tweet the possibility of “being put in a position to hurt my team because I don’t want to partake in the vaccine is making me question my future in the NFL.”
Unique challenges arose during the 2020 season. For example, there was at least one game played every day of the week.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Denver Broncos played a regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints without any quarterbacks because they violated protocols, and one had tested positive. The Broncos had to turn to a rookie wide receiver who was on the team’s practice squad. Later in the season, the Saints played a game without any of its running backs.
The NFL fined the Tennessee Titans $350,000 for lack of compliance with the league’s coronavirus protocols. The team had an outbreak in which 24 players and staffers tested positive for COVID-19.
An NFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
