The N.F.L. Figures Out How to Team-Build From a Distance

One question left unanswered is how the league will monitor teams to ensure they do not ask their players to do work outside the established guidelines.

“Teams try to get every competitive advantage they can get,” Gabe Feldman, the director of the Sports Law Program at Tulane University, said. “The players may have too much time on their hands, but also the teams could load up the players with too much work.”

After the first part of the virtual off-season ends on May 15, teams that took part can continue for another six weeks. If state governments do not lift their stay-at-home orders by then, teams will have to continue working virtually. To maintain fairness, if even one N.F.L. team is unable to reopen its facility, then all franchises will have to continue following the virtual off-season guidelines.

This requirement, while entirely understandable, means the league must follow the instructions of health officials in the 24 states where its teams train. The challenge for the N.F.L. is that while the number of cases appears to be cresting in cities like Seattle, it is rising in other N.F.L. cities, including the smallest, Green Bay, Wis.

The number of cases in Brown County, where Green Bay is, increased more than fourfold from April 7 to 17. While the absolute number of cases is relatively low, health investigators, including those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reportedly visited Brown County over the weekend, according to The Green Bay Press Gazette.

The wave of hot spots in N.F.L. cities makes it more likely the league will have to extend its virtual off-season training program past May 15, and force the league to yet again adapt to circumstances out of its control.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/sports/football/nfl-ota-minicamp-workout-coronavirus.html