It’s important to note that as of right now, the NFL has not canceled or delayed anything. Of course, the current situation with COVID-19 is causing the NBA to delay the season, NCAA conference tournament games and the NCAA tournament set to be played in empty stadiums, and a bunch of other professional sports making decisions about their games and upcoming activities, it’s time to take a look at the NFL calendar and figure out what major events could be affected.
Pro Days
A lot of highly regarded prospects were waiting on their pro-days to show scouts, coaches, and front offices their skills and athletically ability. The NFL doesn’t have the power to cancel pro days but teams run their own businesses. If some of the biggest companies in the United States — and the world — are telling their employees not to travel unless it’s necessary, it would check out that teams — which are just like any business — would do the same.
That means a lot of players with something to prove may not get their proverbial close up. Teams will have to heavily rely on game tape. Interviews will have to be done via video conference. It’s unfortunate to players who may not have had a ton of time on the field but do well enough of their pro day to get drafted or players from smaller schools who need pro days to catch on with a team.
Free agency
Free agency shouldn’t have any huge issues compared to other activities, but how many players want to travel to a city that’s having an outbreak? Seattle is one of the major cities hit by the virus, and they’ve shut down events and gatherings with more than 250 people. There won’t be 250 people in the room for any free agent events, but there’s no reason to chance things with travel.
So if a team had a big pitch on-site, that pitch may be a bit compromised. Teams, players, and agents can still get deals done, but it will be over the phone or in cities without any issues.
Annual League Meeting
The Annual League Meeting — sometimes referred to as the Owner’s Meeting — is scheduled to be held at the end of the month. It’s a time where we’d learn about Tom Brady’s decision and its effect on the league from either his new team or his old team. It’s where we get that amazing picture of all the coaches in khaki shorts and Andy Reid in a Hawaiian shirt. It’s beautiful.
The League Meeting will probably go off without a hitch but it may not be covered as heavily by the press as it has been in recent years. Maybe the owners decide to ban all media members. After all, said media members will be coming in from all parts of the country and put on planes with a bunch of people who are traveling.
Most NFL owners fall into demographic categories that are more susceptible to greater health problems when infected with COVID-19. The disease is statistically worse for men, and people above 70 — although the numbers from China that show worse results for men could be from smoking — and that describes a bunch of owners and some coaches are close to 70 as well. They could practice social distancing in press conferences, but the owners may not want to take the chance.
The NFL Draft
The offseason workout program shouldn’t be affected. Players should be able to come to work, however, the next big date is the NFL Draft and that will be looked at like any other large event.
The league has done a great job making the draft a huge spectator affair. Once the NFL moved the draft out of New York it became a travel destination for some of the biggest fans out there. This year it was scheduled to happen in Las Vegas.
The league will surely keep an eye on what happens in Nevada. If there is a novel coronavirus outbreak, it would be pretty simple to either have the draft happen remotely or reschedule it to another date. The NFL may not be the decision-maker in this case. If the political powers that be won’t allow mass gatherings, there is no point in holding the draft in Sin City as it was originally intended.
The good news for the league is that the draft isn’t until the end of April. Maybe there’s a chance this is all figured out by then.
