NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent out an informative letter to all 32 teams regarding the necessary protocols for reopening team facilities and the 2020 season. It lays out stages of engagement with no clearly defined dates or schedules.
“It is impossible to project what the next few months will bring,” Goodell said in the release via AP. “Uninformed commentary that speculates on how individual clubs or the league will address a range of hypothetical contingencies serves to constructive purpose and instead confuses our fans and business partners, complicates the operations of other clubs, and distracts from the careful planning that is needed right now.”
Among the phases to return to normalcy, with a nod toward local restrictions and regulations that vary from club to club:
Phase 1 would allow for up to 50 percent of a team’s non-player employees (coaches, trainers, scouts, etc.) to occupy the facility on any given day, up to a maximum of 75. This phase could begin as soon as May 15th.
No players would be permitted in team buildings unless resuming a course of rehabilitation that was already underway when facilities were first closed.
Phase 2 is still up for revision and depends more on the local restrictions in place for each team.
