Wideout Stefon Diggs joined a chorus of players pointing out the irony of playing football and then not being allowed to exchange jerseys with your opponent. Chuck Cook -USA TODAY Sports

NFL players bash jersey-exchange bans amid pandemic

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jul 9, 2020 3:27 PM ET

On the same day that ESPN's Paul Finebaum said "the college football season is slipping away" and a Dallas superintendent hinted there may be no high school football in Texas due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the NFL annoyed its players with interesting guidelines for a season still scheduled to kick off on Sept. 10.

As NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, players won't be allowed to exchange jerseys following games due to strict social-distancing guidelines:

NFL teams will be forbidden from postgame interactions within 6 feet of each other and jersey exchanges between players will be prohibited during the 2020 season, sources say.

Another way the NFL will look different in the COVID-19 world.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 9, 2020

ESPN's Kevin Seifert added that coaches, as well as players who aren't likely to play, are "strongly encouraged" to wear masks, that team personnel will have temperatures checked upon their arrivals to stadiums, and that individuals cannot share drinks.

Banning athletes who spend hours playing a contact sport that involves tackling and breathing on each other touched a nerve with some players.

San Francisco 49ers defensive back Richard Sherman tweeted that the rule is "a perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell."

This is a perfect example of NFL thinking in a nutshell. Players can go engage in a full contact game and do it safely. However, it is deemed unsafe for them to exchange jerseys after said game. https://t.co/fWefsUSVDc
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) July 9, 2020

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson called the rule "damn silly."

thats DAMN SILLY bro.. ‍♂️ https://t.co/QDOwn2G3bc
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) July 9, 2020

So have you ever played in a professional football game before? So you don’t think when you get tackled sweat and saliva isn’t there? Or during timeouts or in a huddle or in between plays guys aren’t talking to each other face to face? I need better facts to get it? https://t.co/8zbRq17zZ7
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) July 9, 2020

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle had some questions:

https://t.co/JHZWTfcVmi pic.twitter.com/3SAPS4y3Vh
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) July 9, 2020

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs assumed Pelissero was kidding:

Not trying to be funny or anything but this gotta be a joke
— DIGGS (@stefondiggs) July 9, 2020

As coronavirus cases continue to spike throughout much of the nation, players may have little to worry about regarding on-the-field restrictions by the time September comes around.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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