Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

So when will decisions come down on rather there will be a 2020 nfl and college football season? I know it is way to early at this point but say if the virus is still rapidly spreading come summer time would they then have to make a decision. When will we probably know if there will be 2020 football happening?

There is no way to know at this point, when or even whether there might be an NFL season in 2020.

A few points that could be watched:

1. Hospital bed usage by June 1. That's a very solid indicator for the stage the nation is in as we fight the virus. If the ERs across the nation are too busy to see injured football players, that could be a reason to delay training camp and the season.

2. Use of stadiums for testing. Lowe's Motor Speedway is being used now in Concord, NC, as a testing and staging site. As most NFL stadiums were built with at least some public money, those stadiums could be used in the same way the speedway is in use now and the public need would out-rank football. If that is the case, the stadiums would be off-limits to the teams.

3. Politics. The President has already asked the NFL NOT to delay the start of the season and this could have an impact at some point.

4. College football. As college dorms have been cited as likely locals for non-critical virus patients somewhere down the line, the college season is very likely to be delayed and the NFL probably would not try to start a season when the public health is not good enough for the colleges to play.

5. I wonder about the public relations hit the league will take if it holds the draft as scheduled, even if it is done entirely online. If the draft is that controversial, playing games would probably be more so.

These are not hard/fast indicators from an insider, just careful thoughts from a guy who has been around a while.

Stay safe! Wash your hands and give yourself six feet of space!

Lee Elder

Lee Elder wrote:

2. Use of stadiums for testing. Lowe's Motor Speedway is being used now in Concord, NC, as a testing and staging site. As most NFL stadiums were built with at least some public money, those stadiums could be used in the same way the speedway is in use now and the public need would out-rank football. If that is the case, the stadiums would be off-limits to the teams.

The Army has pegged Seattle's Centurylink Stadium as a field hospital:

https://q13fox.com/2020/03/27/army-cons ... -pandemic/

Ron,

I had not heard about the deal in Seattle. Thanks very much for the update.

Lee Elder

The Krafts/Patriots are using the Patriots team 767 to bring more than one million N95 masks from China for use in Massachusetts and New York. It lands this afternoon at Logan and the National Guard will transport them:

https://www.boston.com/news/health/2020 ... bert-kraft