Will there be a football season in 2020?

Place your bets...

Can you make partial football season an option?

I voted "half-filled". I suspect that there will be almost empty stadiums.

Funny you posted this, I had a discussion with someone else earlier and I don't see how they can fix this by September unless the government throws up their hands and gives up and accepts this as a new cyclical disease...which given what it's been doing, would be a nightmare.

Could always play at empty stadiums I guess. Unless players say no thanks to playing at all.

The football season is already substantially affected. Teams can't do prospect visits, medical question marks stay open and there will be even more screw ups than usual with draft picks due to uncertainty.

Then to make things worse there won't be a proper preseason which will be extremely problematic for rookies especially, but overall play as well. Think about how bad the product often looked in the first 2-4 weeks with everything going as planned.

Big crowds during sports events will be among the last things that go back to normal because there is rightfully no priority to it. So no idea if the league will just delay everything, play a shortened season in empty stadiums at the start or come up with something totally different.

But then again with Goodell they have such a bigbrained genius running the entire operation that I am sure they will absolutely nail all their decisions.

Ian said:

Funny you posted this, I had a discussion with someone else earlier and I don't see how they can fix this by September unless the government throws up their hands and gives up and accepts this as a new cyclical disease...which given what it's been doing, would be a nightmare.

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There could be treatment protocols by November, even protocols that that cases very early. I think that is what we have for flu. So, I could envision every player and all staff tested before a game, and also testing for fever everyday. In addition, I would think that there could be testing after the game, and daily.

BTW, there is absolutely no reason for the long responses times for evaluating tests. In December it was taking 4 hours in China. I believe that the South Korea numbers are much lower. Folks are now talking about a self test that will able to be evaluated in 45 minutes. Even if it isn't a self test, we should have such testing by September.
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So, let's summarize. Players and staff would be tested daily. No one would be allowed out of the playing facility before testing negative. There would be no fans in the stands. I think that this is very possible. And BTW, notice that this is possible even WITHOUT any treatment. What is required is accurate tests.

Obviously, players are not forced to play, and forced to be paid for their labor.

mgteich said:

So, let's summarize. Players and staff would be tested daily. No one would be allowed out of the playing facility before testing negative. There would be no fans in the stands. I think that this is very possible. And BTW, notice that this is possible even WITHOUT any treatment. What is required is accurate tests.

Obviously, players are not forced to play, and forced to be paid for their labor.

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(EDITED - because I clearly can't read) - @mgteich

I agree with you. I just don't see how you can have 70,000 fans in 16 stadiums each weekend and make that work. So if they'll be willing to play in front of nobody, then I guess it's possible. But if not, I just don't see how this gets solved by then. It's just crazy.

So a related question - does Tampa Bay keep Brady around for 2021 if they do end up cancelling 2020? It's risky bringing in a 44 year old without seeing what he could do at age 43. However, I think there is a 25M cap hit if they cut him, so my guess would be yes.

TommyBrady12 said:

So a related question - does Tampa Bay keep Brady around for 2021 if they do end up cancelling 2020? It's risky bringing in a 44 year old without seeing what he could do at age 43. However, I think there is a 25M cap hit if they cut him, so my guess would be yes.

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That would be a league-wide issue since every player would be affected, but it's a good question and it would certainly be disappointing to see these guys lose an entire year of their youth over this

Honestly? Unless there’s some sort of kind of miraculous turnaround with the discovery of some sort of treatment that makes the virus far less potent I don’t think there will be a season.

Ian said:

It's not the players I worry about, I just don't see how you can have 70,000 fans in 16 stadiums each weekend and make that work. So if they'll be willing to play in front of nobody, then I guess it's possible. But if not, I just don't see how this gets solved by then. It's just crazy.

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I apologize for being unclear. I think that the games should be played without fans, and that having such games would be a great service to the country. However, I don't think that this should happen unless the players can be properly tested before and after the game.

mgteich said:

I apologize for being unclear. I think that the games should be played without fans, and that having such games would be a great service to the country. However, I don't think that this should happen unless the players can be properly tested before and after the game.

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You being unclear isn't the same as me not being able to read. So I'll apologize for being unable to read, which should cancel out you thinking you were unclear

TommyBrady12 said:

So a related question - does Tampa Bay keep Brady around for 2021 if they do end up cancelling 2020? It's risky bringing in a 44 year old without seeing what he could do at age 43. However, I think there is a 25M cap hit if they cut him, so my guess would be yes.

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at his age, you can't just take an entire year off. he could work out till he's blue in the face. but its not game shape. it wouldn't surprise me if he retires if this year is lost.

Ian said:

You being unclear isn't the same as me not being able to read. So I'll apologize for being unable to read, which should cancel out you thinking you were unclear

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mgteich said:

I apologize for being unclear. I think that the games should be played without fans, and that having such games would be a great service to the country. However, I don't think that this should happen unless the players can be properly tested before and after the game.

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Anyone know the economics of what happens if they play without fans in attendance?

- They lose all ticket, parking, and vendor revenue on game days
- They retain TV revenue and probably most merch
- Roughly same fixed costs of salaries, facilities and equipment

Google search: "An NFL team earned about $7 million, on average, in ticket sales from a single stadium event in 2016."

16 games a week x 16 weeks = 256 total games = $1,792,000,000

Google: "The league currently makes more than $5 billion a year from selling its broadcasting rights. Neal Pilson, who founded consulting firm Pilson Communications, said the NFL could see at least a minimum of 25-30% increase in rights fees."

My hunch is they could pull it off and it would be worth it.

What happens first, the coronavirus ends or the investigation into the Bengals camera incident?

Hopefully.

My mental health is going to **** without hockey, baseball, basketball and soccer.

captain insano said:

at his age, you can't just take an entire year off. he could work out till he's blue in the face. but its not game shape. it wouldn't surprise me if he retires if this year is lost.

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that'd be awesome.

Like all of you I am craving some sort of Sports as a distraction to what is happening around is.

That being said, and if by August this virus is still lingering. It would be crazy not to cancel the season. Making fans attend because you won’t refund their tickets would be ridiculous and a major problem the NFL does not want to deal with. As far as making the players play with no fans in the stadium is even more ridiculous. It takes OTA’s and training camp and exhibition games to get teams ready for the type of football we want to watch. But most important these guys are participating in a pig pile all game long. We don’t want fans being elbow to elbow but the players should bleed and sweat all over each other so we can amuse ourselves for a few months.

Sorry I miss the games like the rest of you. But this virus is nothing to overlook lightly. The players and fans that attend should be able to protect themselves like everyone else. That means distancing yourself. That cannot be done in this situation.