The National Football League is counting down the days until its 2021 season kicks off, with excitement for a fall that won’t be influenced nearly as much by the COVID-19 pandemic. With vaccination rates rising across the United States, the NFL could create new incentives to encourage players to get vaccinated.
Coming off a season that saw the league lose $4 billion in revenue due to the pandemic, commissioner Roger Goodell and league officials are determined to regain a sense of normalcy. The upcoming season will begin to approach that, with teams increasing their stadium capacity and loosened restrictions for fully vaccinated fans.
While games were still played during the pandemic, it also came at a cost to players and coaches. Strict COVID-19 protocols restricted travel, required everyone inside team facilities to wear masks and countless players were sidelined after either testing positive or due to being deemed a high-risk, close contact.
The league informed all 32 clubs in March that safety protocols would slowly be eased back this fall. But there are still safety guidelines that must be followed and teams like the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders discovered the consequences of violating those protocols last season.
General managers looking to avoid draft-pick penalties and players seeking a more relaxed atmosphere might have an opportunity at that later this year.
NFL COVID-19 protocols in 2021
According to NBC Sports’ Peter King, the NFL has discussed allowing teams to operate with more freedom this season if 85% of the roster is vaccinated. The league has already offered some incentives for personnel who are two weeks removed from receiving their final vaccine shot.
- Vaccinated personnel are no longer required to wear masks inside the facility
- Players, staff no longer required to undergo daily testing for COVID-19
- NFL no longer requires vaccinated personnel to be quarantined if in contact with an infected person.
But the league wants to take things a step further, taking a page out of how Major League Baseball is operating this season. If 85% of an MLB team’s players and field staff are fully vaccinated, they can resume eating at restaurants, can socialize inside without masks, are permitted to carpool and their family members can stay with them on road trips.
Currently, 14 of 30 MLB teams have reached the 85% threshold. But it might take the NFL a long time to get there. One team official told King that less than 40% of his players are vaccinated, a number that is likely similar across the league.
There’s plenty of incentive for teams to get the vaccine and Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has pointed out teams with high vaccination rates are at an advantage. Ultimately, this will be a huge storyline to follow in the weeks to come and it will impact the outcome of the 2021 season.
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