By Kevin McLaughlin
Even though the NFL is currently in the offseason, COVID-19 has affected the league like it has with many others. The NFL Draft was scheduled to take place from April 23 – April 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The draft was supposed to take place downtown with thousands of fans lining the streets of Las Vegas. Because of the coronavirus outbreak across the country, the draft will now take place online.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the draft picks from his basement in Bronxville, New York. Many NFL General Managers are concerned that hackers will hack into the call, and affect the draft. While the NFL is losing money with no draft in Las Vegas, they are fortunate that the season does not start until September.
On February 20, 2020, NFL players voted to approve a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). This vote was very close, as 1,019 players voted yes, while 959 voted no. The CBA is designed to bring more income to the league, the players, and more enjoyment for the fans.
Starting in 2021, the NFL playoffs will be expanded from 12 teams to 14. This will make more revenue for the league, as there will now be two more playoff games. The players get about 47% of the revenue brought in by the league, so they will now receive more money with more revenue coming in. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, creating two more playoff games will make $150 million more for the NFL. 47% of $150 million is $70.5 million.
Why would almost half of the league vote against the new CBA if they will get an increased salary? Another addition in 2021 because of the CBA is moving from a 16 game schedule to a 17 game schedule. Many NFL players believe that a 16 game schedule is too hard on the body, and that is excluding 4 preseason games, a possible 4 playoff games, and practice 4-5 days a week for 6 months. Constant injuries have caused star NFL players such as Andrew Luck (29), Luke Kuechly (28) and Rob Gronkowski (29) to cut their careers short. Expanding the season to 17 games will cause even more injury on the body.
Both the new CBA and the NFL draft this week, will affect the future of the league for many years to come.
