NFL Announces Ability To Withhold Game Checks Due to COVID-19 Cancelations
The NFL announced a series of changes to last year's COVID-19 policy that could have severe impacts on teams with unvaccinated players or staff members.
Prior to training camps opening up for all 32 teams in the NFL, the league announced on Thursday if a game cannot be rescheduled during the 2021 season due to a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will forfeit and be credited with a loss for playoff seeding, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
On top of the forfeits, if a game is canceled and cannot be rescheduled within the current 18-week scheduled due to a COVID-19 outbreak, neither team’s players will be paid.
In a thread of tweets, Pelissero explained the league’s stance and the potential ramifications in all kinds of scenarios. In a result of a forfeit, the team responsible for a canceled game will be responsible for financial losses and subject to possible punishment from the commissioner.
The NFL doesn't plan on adding a 19th week to the schedule to accommodate games that can’t be played during the regular schedule.
Adding to the league’s incentivization for vaccinations is their new policy for new cases. According to the league-wide memo, vaccinated individuals who test positive and are asymptomatic can return after two negative tests 24 hours apart. Players or staff members that are unvaccinated are still subject to a mandatory 10-day isolation period like last year.
The NFL cites the CDC data and major healthcare data for their decision-making on the matter.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.