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In any other year, N.F.L. facilities across the country would be buzzing this week, when teams are allowed to begin their off-season workout programs, the first organized football activities since they ended the prior season.
Normally, this is a time when teammates are reunited for workouts and position meetings. Coaches get their first in-person look at free-agent signees, and trainers assess how injured players are recovering.
But like nearly all other nonessential businesses in the country, N.F.L. teams are in lockdown, with all coaches, players and staff working from home. This has thrown one of the most critical stretches of the league’s calendar into flux, and forced the N.F.L. and its players’ union to develop a host of rules changes. Teams have scrambled to adapt to working from home, and the coronavirus advisories have put the N.F.L. at the mercy of government and health officials.
Unlike other pro sports leagues, whose seasons were fractured by the pandemic, the N.F.L., despite the turmoil, has had an easier time so far. Its first game isn’t until Sept. 10. Still, the league and the N.F.L. Players Association had to create one set of guidelines for 32 teams, 2,000 players and hundreds of coaches, trainers and other staff.
“We’re going to treat all 32 teams the same way,” Jeff Pash, the N.F.L.’s general counsel, told reporters last week. “We’ll do it in a way that does preserve competitive equity.”
The league said its three-week virtual off-season, which is voluntary for players, would include classroom instruction with digital playbooks as well as workouts and nonfootball educational programs. The league has given teams the autonomy to organize their own training sessions and classes. They can send players workout equipment worth up to $1,500.
Where the Major Sports Stand Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
April 9, 2020
While the off-season workouts are voluntary, every team is expected to take part, especially this year, when coaches are prevented from meeting players in person. This is particularly true for teams with new head coaches, who were able to start on Monday, while all other teams can begin next Monday. Teams that do not take part in the off-season workouts in the first three-week period cannot take part in the second phase of the off-season, which begins on May 18.
Without in-person accountability, the remote work will compel teams to determine how to validate that players have participated. Players who take part in the virtual off-season minicamps and workouts will receive $235 per day. But players who are eligible to earn additional off-season workout bonuses, which can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, must take part to be paid. Teams specify a percentage of workouts that players must complete to receive contract bonuses.
Teams are also facing the prospect of losing out on the intangible interactions that can unite players ahead of a long season.
Normally, this is a time when teammates are reunited for workouts and position meetings. Coaches get their first in-person look at free-agent signees, and trainers assess how injured players are recovering.
But like nearly all other nonessential businesses in the country, N.F.L. teams are in lockdown, with all coaches, players and staff working from home. This has thrown one of the most critical stretches of the league’s calendar into flux, and forced the N.F.L. and its players’ union to develop a host of rules changes. Teams have scrambled to adapt to working from home, and the coronavirus advisories have put the N.F.L. at the mercy of government and health officials.
Unlike other pro sports leagues, whose seasons were fractured by the pandemic, the N.F.L., despite the turmoil, has had an easier time so far. Its first game isn’t until Sept. 10. Still, the league and the N.F.L. Players Association had to create one set of guidelines for 32 teams, 2,000 players and hundreds of coaches, trainers and other staff.
“We’re going to treat all 32 teams the same way,” Jeff Pash, the N.F.L.’s general counsel, told reporters last week. “We’ll do it in a way that does preserve competitive equity.”
The league said its three-week virtual off-season, which is voluntary for players, would include classroom instruction with digital playbooks as well as workouts and nonfootball educational programs. The league has given teams the autonomy to organize their own training sessions and classes. They can send players workout equipment worth up to $1,500.
Where the Major Sports Stand Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
April 9, 2020
While the off-season workouts are voluntary, every team is expected to take part, especially this year, when coaches are prevented from meeting players in person. This is particularly true for teams with new head coaches, who were able to start on Monday, while all other teams can begin next Monday. Teams that do not take part in the off-season workouts in the first three-week period cannot take part in the second phase of the off-season, which begins on May 18.
Without in-person accountability, the remote work will compel teams to determine how to validate that players have participated. Players who take part in the virtual off-season minicamps and workouts will receive $235 per day. But players who are eligible to earn additional off-season workout bonuses, which can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, must take part to be paid. Teams specify a percentage of workouts that players must complete to receive contract bonuses.
Teams are also facing the prospect of losing out on the intangible interactions that can unite players ahead of a long season.
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