After a few days without any real clarity on a deadline, NFL players finally got a definite endpoint for their time to choose if they want to play in the 2020 season. On Monday, the NFL established the deadline for opting-out at 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 6th.
The NFL owners and the NFL Players Association agreed to the terms Monday night. The long-reported deadline of seven days from the time of the agreement was amended to the shorter deadline. USA TODAY reports some teams were worried that players would abuse the opt-out clause, and teams also wanted the ability to plan to replace those who do elect to not play due to COVID-19 concerns.
Thus far the only Lions players to opt-out are DT John Atkins and WR Geronimo Allison.
