COVID-19 News & Rumors

The Big Ten is the first Power 5 conference to announce an alteration to its football schedule in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reports that the Big Ten is expected to announce a conference-only schedule for the fall, adding that the Pac-12 is expected to follow suit.

At first glance, that doesn’t seem like a devastating blow. While certain marquee matchups like Oregon-Ohio State and Wisconsin-Notre Dame will no longer be in the cards, it’s at least somewhat encouraging that the conference is still trying to move forward with attempts to play in the fall. Indeed, following the Ivy League’s announcement that it would postpone its season to the spring, many believed that other conferences would follow suit.

Of course, the nation’s infection rate is not going down like it was expected to, and today’s announcement simply feels like the first of many changes to come. The remaining P5 conferences are expected to make a tentative decision on their schedules by early August.

As of now, the NFL has no plans to postpone the draft to accommodate college teams that might be playing in the spring, but if more conferences follow the Ivy League’s lead, that might change. Given the massive revenue losses that colleges would experience without a football season, they will continue trying to do everything in their power to play, whether that’s in the fall or the spring.

It is worth noting that the games the Big Ten and other P5 schools play against smaller programs are significant sources of income for the smaller schools, so this will be a tough pill for them to swallow.

The rumored scenario of the Ivy League moving its football season to the spring could be in the works. The academically renowned coalition announced Wednesday it is postponing its fall sports calendar.

“With the information available to us today regarding the continued spread of the virus, we simply do not believe we can create and maintain an environment for intercollegiate athletic competition that meets our requirements for safety and acceptable levels of risk, consistent with the policies that each of our schools is adopting as part of its reopening plans this fall,” the league’s statement read.

Not too many Ivy Leaguers move on to NFL careers, but this decision could have ripple effects for Division I-FBS conferences. The Power 5 programs are not expected to make a final decision on the viability of fall football amid the COVID-19 pandemic for a few weeks, but the Pac-12 has already discussed the prospect of playing in the spring.

This would certainly be a seismic change for the sport, but upon facing massive revenue losses, schools will opt for spring football before cancelling seasons. Should Division I-FBS conferences postpone their seasons until the spring, in hopes the coronavirus will be under control in the country by then, it will affect the NFL. Top prospects will have little offseason time to recover in advance of the 2021 NFL season, and the NFL draft may commence before the college campaign ends. Currently, the NFL is against moving its draft to accommodate college teams playing football in the spring.

In order to mitigate a potential $4B loss in revenue that could arise if the 2020 NFL season is played without fans, the league submitted a proposal to the union whereby 35% of player salaries would be held in escrow, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). The union’s response? “Kick rocks,” per NFLPA executive Don Davis (Twitter link via Pelissero).

The union believes that such an escrow agreement must be collectively bargained, and Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic believes the two sides will ultimately agree to a smaller percentage (Twitter link). Kaplan thinks the NFL’s proposal was simply an opening salvo, with the league estimating that the prospective lost revenue will equate to about 35% of the salary cap. Mark Maske of the Washington Post says the escrow proposal could help to avoid a major drop in the 2021 cap, but players are not reacting favorably to the idea thus far (Twitter link).

The union and the league have been arguing over certain safety protocols, the number of preseason games, etc. Now that economics have joined the fray, many have pointed to the protracted battle between Major League Baseball and its union as a harbinger of things to come for the NFL. But to be clear, as Maske tweets, NFL players ultimately would be paid any money that is put into escrow. The only issue — albeit a significant one — is when the money would be paid. Pelissero says the union wants to spread out the damage created by a lost season over the course of the 11-year CBA, and the league wants to do it more quickly (video link).

The league and union have come together on training camp facility protocols, but a lot of work still needs to be done in almost every other aspect of COVID-19 matters, and there is not much time to get these issues resolved.

The league and union are still at odds over a number of issues, but at least they have come together on one key point: a club facility protocol for training camp. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the two sides are in agreement on a three-tier framework for facility access.

Florio writes that the agreed-upon structure largely mirrors the directive the NFL issued last month. Tier 1 will include players, coaches, trainers, doctors, the strength and conditioning coach, and the head equipment manager. Tier 2 includes non-playing personnel like the GM, and Tier 3 includes employees who perform facility or event services but who do not need to come into contact with Tier 1 personnel. One week before training camp, teams must submit to the league a list of personnel who will fall under each tier, a process that has generated some heated debate within some organizations.

The protocol, of course, emphasizes strict physical distancing requirements, including the reconfiguration of locker rooms to allow six feet between every player. When in the facility, players must be at least six feet apart at all times, and saunas and steam rooms will not be used.

Players were pushing for all team meetings to be held virtually, and the protocol holds that virtual meetings will be held “to the extent possible.” If an in-person meeting is conducted, it should be held outdoors.

The protocol also allows for up to two fan events at a team’s stadium during training camp — contingent upon the state’s regulations — but obviously fans will not be permitted on the field and will not have contact with players.

Importantly, the protocol makes no mention of the frequency or type of COVID-19 testing. Per Florio, that will likely be covered in a separate document.

The NFL and NFLPA have been at it for weeks regarding the implementation of emergency-scenario training camps amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But the NFL may believe finalizing negotiations will not be necessary. The league does not believe it is obligated to negotiate with players about safety protocols in camps, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, adding that the basis for the NFL’s argument is the 11-year CBA deal ratified in March. That is one argument to make, though the league backing out of talks and sending players into the fray without sufficient coronavirus-era protocols would create significant backlash that would further damage the parties’ relationship.

Here is the latest from the pandemic front:

• The NFL recently released testing protocols, which feature different return-to-work barriers for symptomatic and asymptomatic players. For an asymptomatic player to return to action after a positive coronavirus test, he must wait five days and test negative twice within a 24-hour span to return to his team, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes (on Twitter). For players showing symptoms, at least 10 days must pass since those symptoms first emerged. Players must consult with a team physician, the NFL chief medical officer and the CDC’s Incident Command System before being permitted to return.
• Players’ family members, and anyone else who lives with players during the season, will also be tested, Pelissero adds (video link). The NFLPA has floated the prospect of fines for players not adhering to social-distancing policies when away from team facilities. Restrictions on players’ actions when away from their teams are not fully known, but it is clear they will not have normal non-football routines this year.
• No opt-out policy has surfaced yet, but that will be one of this process’ key dominoes. The NFLPA wants the league to give all players the option to opt out of this season and have their contracts toll to 2021, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. The NFL will need to first address players who are at higher risk of encountering severe complications from the virus. Major League Baseball gave those players both pay and service time. No NFLer has made it known he will opt out yet, but based on some decisions coming out of the NBA and MLB, teams can expect some players to opt out.
• The Ivy League will announce Wednesday its plans for the fall semester. Multiple football coaches within the league informed The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Nicole Auerbach the expectation is the country’s premier academic conference will play football in spring 2021 (subscription required). Various non-Ivy League athletic directors anticipate the conference’s announcement to have a significant effect on fall sports. These ADs expect the Power 5 conferences to have a decision by early August. College football moving to the spring would obviously have a tremendous effect on the sport, though the NFL is not currently entertaining the notion of changing its 2021 draft date.

Less than three weeks remain until rookies are scheduled to report to training camp. But a host of issues need to be resolved by then for that to happen. Here is the latest on the NFL’s efforts to finalize a new setup for the impending COVID-19-altered season:

• A key takeaway from Friday’s NFLPA conference call: contracts relating to the coronavirus. Once teams report to camp, players who test positive for the virus will be treated the same way — contractually speaking — as injured players, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. They will be paid. No COVID-19 list — which would accompany teams’ IR lists — has been finalized yet, but something along these lines may emerge given the case records the country is currently setting.
• With the NFLPA recommending no preseason games occur, the union discussed a practice schedule that includes a 21-day strength and conditioning period to make up for the virtual offseason, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This would help protect players against injuries from being rushed back to full-on practice work immediately. The new CBA called for a short ramp-up period before pads come on, but a 21-day stretch obviously would dwarf the initial padless itinerary. The NFLPA also discussed a 10-day period of padless practices and a 14-day stretch with an eight-padded-practice maximum. These camp blocs would follow the 21-day conditioning span. With uncertainty on the practice and game fronts, the NFL’s August plans are very much in flux.
• As of now, the expectation is for players to be tested every other day once they report to camp. Players have pushed for every-day testing, however. The NFLPA discussed a scenario of players needing to test negative twice in a 24-hour span, Breer tweets.
• Players’ concerns the process of returning to work is being rushed do not appear to be swaying the NFL. The league’s plan remains for teams to return to camp July 28. A medical expert on Friday’s call informed players they will need to make decisions on playing this season on an individual basis, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com notes (video link), pointing to high-stakes opt-out choices. The NFL and NFLPA have not finalized an opt-out plan yet.