Coronavirus in Sport – the impact on NFL
This is a continuously updated account of how NFL has been impacted by the developing coronavirus pandemic. For information on how the virus has affected other sports, click here.
16th April - It has been revealed that Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen tested positive for COVID-19 three weeks ago. Allen is the first known NFL player to test positive for the virus.
6th April - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell informed all 32 NFL clubs that the 2020 NFL Draft would proceed in a fully virtual format using only phone and the internet to communicate. The draft, originally scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, runs from April 23-25.
30th March - The NFL could delay the release of its 2020 schedule by a few weeks to make extra preparations in case the coronavirus pandemic forces the league to produce a shorter season.
24th March - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to all 32 teams of the NFL to notify them that club facilities will be closed by Wednesday 6pm local time until at least April 8th, with a few exceptions.
24th March - President of the NFL Physicians Society has stated in a letter to the league that NFL doctors will no longer conduct physicals for free agents and draft picks until the coronavirus pandemic "has passed".
22nd March - The 2020 NFL Draft will now be held in a television studio with the previous plans to still televise the event from Las Vegas in front of a limited amount of spectators deemed not safe enough.
20th March - Some NFL teams are placing coronavirus-related clauses in their free agency contracts due to the fact they cannot perform face-to-face medicals with players, negotiable between team and player.
20th March - New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton reveals he has tested positive for coronavirus and has five days left of self-isolation. Payton becomes the first known person in the league to test positive for the virus.
18th March - While the NFL looks like one of the lucky ones in 2020 due to when their season is scheduled, coronavirus has put a stop to a planned public “party event” in Las Vegas for the 2020 NFL Draft which will now be a sparsely attended live TV event. The NFL is “exploring innovative options for how the process will be conducted and will provide that information as it becomes available. The selection process will be televised.”
17th March - NFL free agency could be affected as teams are restricted from sending their own doctors to perform medical checks to evaluate free agents but it will open as usual.
