Both leagues were almost finished with their regular seasons when the world went into a shutdown and now the playoff teams will be playing in "bubbles" - the NBA teams are in Orlando while the NHL is split between Toronto and Edmonton - in an effort to finish their seasons in good health. In the "bubbles", the members of each team are tested regularly, stay together in hotels, and play in facilities in which no fans are in attendance.
Major League Baseball, which opened its season late last week, opted not to follow the "bubble" model and its season is already in jeopardy. The Miami Marlins have suffered a breakout of the disease over the weekend, with 17 members of their traveling party already testing positive. MLB has postponed all of the Marlins games through at least the end of the week. With their health and safety on the line, it is fair to wonder if the MLB season will survive into August.
That brings me to the NFL. Their season has not been impacted at all yet, unlike their counterparts in hockey, basketball, and baseball. Yes, the NFL Draft was held remotely and off-season workout programs are not what they usually are but no practices or real games have been lost yet. The preseason games were called off but no fan will really miss them.
The NFL will not follow the example of the NBA and NHL and use the "bubble" model. I'm not sure a "bubble" would be possible considering each team's players, coaches, and staff would number well over 100 and they would have to do so for upwards of 4-5 months, unlike the NBA and NHL which are looking at a 2-month "bubble". But after seeing MLB already facing a crisis, it's safe to assume football is not going to happen this Fall.
Several NFL players have already informed their teams that they will not play in 2020. That list includes six Patriots as Dont'a Hightower, Marcus Cannon, Patrick Chung, Brandon Bolden, Danny Vitale, and Najee Toran have informed the team they will not play in 2020.
My guess is that more players will evaluate their situations and choose to opt out as well. With a vaccine still months away and varying reports of success with existing treatments, spending several months in close quarters with teammates, coaches, staff members, and opponents is certainly a risk.
The question for many individuals, and eventually the entire NFL, will be is the risk worth it in 2020?
Imagining a Fall without the NFL (and throw in the NCAA as well because I can't see them playing either) is weird but it's likely to become part of this "new reality" in 2020.
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