The NFL draft will still go ahead next month despite the global coronavirus outbreak, but all public events surrounding the occasion have been cancelled.
The Draft, which sees college players selected to join the professional ranks by the 32 NFL franchises, is scheduled to take place from 23-25 April, and is usually a huge spectacle, with a host of fan experience events forming part of a weekend of celebration. As many as 600,000 fans were reported to have attended the 2019 edition in Tennessee.
However, the league announced on Monday that all such events have been axed amid the worsening global pandemic.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL were “exploring innovative options for how the process will be conducted”, and confirmed that it will still be televised. No decision has yet been made about whether prospects will be in attendance.
Unlike many major sports leagues around the world, the NFL has not yet seen any fixture disruption due to the outbreak, with its season having finished with the Super Bowl at the start of February and the new one not due to start until the autumn.
The NBA and NHL have both suspended their seasons, while the MLB has pushed the start of its season back two weeks and cancelled its preseason spring training games.
