NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared on The Rich Eisen Show on Friday, where he discussed the status of the upcoming season.
As of now, Goodell said the league plans to commence the season as scheduled in September; however, the NFL has discussed the probability of other plans. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“We are planning on putting our schedule out, our game schedule, by May 9,” Goodell said. “We are planning, as you can tell by the draft and by the start of the league year, and by trying to adjust to the environment, we’re operating in, that we’re planning and working toward staying on schedule. We will be announcing our schedule by then, and we intend to do everything possible to stay focused on that and make sure we can execute on that because that’s where we think we’ll be.”
According to NBC Sports, earlier this week, reports surfaced that reveal the NFL has discussed contingency plans if the coronavirus pandemic is still affecting the world in the way it is now.
Alternate plans include a shortened schedule this season as well as playing games in empty stadiums. Another idea will see stadiums partially empty by limiting the number of attendees at games.
“We’re going to be prepared, and we’re moving on the basis of making sure we’re ready for the season, and we’ll have to adjust if something some way interferes with that, and it’s in the best interest of public safety,” Goodell continued.
Through all the uncertainty of what will happen in the coming months regarding the NFL, Goodell insists that the health of the fans is what’s most important.
“One of the things we always do is we consider public safety in everything we do,” Goodell added. “It’s important for our fans, our participants, our partners, all be safe. We’re obviously going to have that in our forefront as we’re making all our plans. None of us know what the conditions will be a week from now, much less three months from now or six months from now. So we’ll be prepared with alternatives.”
Earlier this week, Goodell and other pro sports commissioners spoke with Donald Trump about the return of sports.
“We’re working with all the authorities,” Goodell explained. “You mentioned the president’s got all the sports together. I think people want to see sports back. We want to do it safely, and we want to do it safely for everybody. So we’re all working together to make sure we find ways to do that, supporting one another but making sure that we do our part to get the economy going to get people back to a place where we have some sense of normalcy.”
