NFL Insists That 2020 Regular Season Will Start On Time

The NFL is, at this point, belligerently optimistic that the 2020 regular season will commence without delay in September.

Every other major sporting event worldwide has been either postponed or suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The NBA, Premier League and 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been affected.

The NFL has already closed team facilities, cancelling offseason training programs as a result. As well as that, the annual owners’ meeting has been cancelled, and the NFL Draft has been overhauled to compensate. 

The NFL season is still five months away. As a result, it is the only major sports league in the world that hasn’t had to cancel games. However, given how offseason business has already been disrupted, it’s fanciful for the league to commit 100% to starting the season in September.

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Executive vice president Jeff Pash says that the league will play all it’s games as originally planned. This includes internationally hosted matches in London and Mexico City.

“Our planning, our expectation, is fully directed at playing a full season starting on schedule and having a full regular season and full set of playoffs,” Jeff Pash said. 

“Am I certain? I’m not certain that I’ll be here tomorrow, but I’m planning on it, and same thing, we are planning on having a full season.”

The league is reportedly discussing a ‘virtual offseason’ program that teams could assign to players who will work out at home until social distancing guidelines relax. However, without knowing what the state of things will be come September, there’s no guarantee that the season will start on time and if it does, will the players be adequately prepared?

Read: NFL Draft May Return To Las Vegas in 2022

“We’re optimistic that just as we expect conditions in the United States to permit playing a full season that that will be the case for our international partners as well,” said Pash. 

“But obviously that’s something that we will have to work closely with the authorities, public health and other government authorities in those other countries to make sure that it’s entirely safe.”