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2019-2020 Offseason:
(Late-Arriving)
Latest NFL News And Views Part 4: From Respecting Race To Saving
Face To Shielding In Place To
KEEPING PACE
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Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
July 27,
2020 At 10:13 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf-
- North American pro sports leagues
have spent the past few months in a bottom-line race to be
historically remembered as the 2020 entertainment “heroes” that
desperate fans everywhere chose to eagerly embrace.
Keeping Pace
While the NBA, MBL, and MLS collective bargaining agreements all
contain a force majeure clause, the NFL CBA contains nothing that
unconscionably allows the league to place player salaries on pause.
“100% of [a player's] yearly salary under this contract in equal
weekly or biweekly installments over the course of the applicable
regular season, commencing with the first regular season game played
by Club in such season.” – from page 338 of the recently-agreed-upon
NFL CBA.
“[Regular season games may not be postponed] unless said game cannot
be played because of an Act of God or because of a state, federal or
local prohibition.” – Article 19.2 of the NFL's Constitution.
While the CBA supersedes the Constitution regarding players pay and
working conditions, the NFL could still postpone / cancel games or
the entire 2020 season over (honorable and understandable) health
and safety concerns (no matter how significant the damage to what
the league normally earns).
YES, Yes, yes, the owners putting the health of players ahead of
their collective money is morbidly funny. And yet, sheltering their
always-forecasted-but-never-guaranteed stash requires equal
protection for the very commodities, the very human beings whose
performances (with and without the right coaching scheme) deliver
that cash. While coaches certainly have their collective place and
value within such approaches, the physical talent, the players are
the ones being (unreasonably?) urged by owners and
(many-but-not-all) entertainment-starved fans alike to play through
this (currently) indomitable, viciously-viral strike.
Though contractual commitments and the appropriate PPE (“Protective
Playing Equipment”) would appear to be the joint tip of the
spear for ANY chance the 2020 NFL season might get into gear, there
are other, demanded, expected, required COVID-19 protocols that
must, MUST be hatched between the league and the union to assuage
understandable player fear.
The NFL has had the unexpected benefit of watching
MLB almost
self-terminate before barely recovering with a stumbling, bumbling
2020 plan to possibly germinate. They also had the opportunity to
watch the NBA carefully craft a 120+ page strategy to resume their
2020 season within a seemingly well-planned bubble (with only two
players – so far – who have dribbled into infectious trouble). And
yet – with precious lessons-to-be-learned from other pro sports –
the NFL has not been nearly as aggressive with critical plans to
avoid getting similarly-burned. The league has only managed to give
members of the NFLPA access to COVID-19 guidelines – through their
“Play Smart Play Safe” website – and among the covered scenarios,
ON-FIELD training camp and game day protocols are nowhere in sight.
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- The NFL is currently negotiating with the NFLPA
to give all players
the choice to opt out of the entire 2020 season. At this rate – with
training camps officially set to open tomorrow – the league has
given all but the most critically-cash-strapped players the perfect
no-play reason (with not a single obligatory sign of sorrow). Though
mysterious remain the details of how that opt-out would function,
players (with perhaps narrow contractual exceptions) should be
mentally-prepared for their salaries to be dismissed in conjunction.
Remember when certain star players (earlier in the year) had
encouraged the general population to hold out for a better CBA deal?
While at least one player (Maurkice Pouncey of the Pittsburgh
Steelers) offered to help his fellow players with any reasonable
monetary gap, they would have now been facing an even worse
financial trap.
Sports business models have had to undergo some radical changes to
(potentially) keep pace. Whenever humanity manages to officially
exit the pandemic, one or more of these competing sports may be
incurably anemic. Perhaps not all major sports will thrive, but it
is certainly incumbent upon the NFL and the NFLPA to ensure THE
product (the players) can safely survive.
Modding The CBA To Ensure Play?
A CBA modification is due to be signed any day (covering two recent
commitments critically important to encouraging most NFLPA members
to play). It acknowledges the absence of preseason games for 2020,
which (for all but practice-and-playing-time-starved rookies) is
sweet as honey. It will also settle details of the
highly-anticipated player opt-out rules (which are evidently not yet
complete). Players will allegedly have until no later than Thursday
of THIS week to officially decide if – in the cringe-worthy 2020 –
they wish to compete.
The NFL is allegedly concerned that players (who expect to be cut
during training camp) will opt out of 2020 to receive otherwise
unavailable stipend money. Players considered at higher risk of
catching COVID-19 would be granted $350,000 with $150,000 each going
towards the general population. While such a “low” figure would make
for a frugal player existence, the ability to avoid more violent
exposure to the virus would quite the reasonable staycation. There
is also concern among owners that agents may – check that – WILL use
the opt out to negotiate better contract pay. The NFL’s more
immediate and embarrassing concern, however, may involve their own
gross miscalculation that only a relatively low percentage of key
players would have used the health-first reason to sidestep the
season. Time will tell, but “gross is beginning to smell.”
Plans For Fans?
And “if, IF” NFL organizations cannot stem the tide of unexpected
opt-outs by proving (through a thus-far-absent NBA-quality set of
protocols) that they can keep a consistently-tight lid on COVID, how
can the league even validate any attempt at a fan presence bid?
"B-BUT frustrated fans are absolutely desperate! They
will do almost anything to be physically-present for
ANY live performance or sport!" you retort (suggesting
legions of fans would be more-than-willing to sign a
one-sided COVID-19 waiver as a last resort).
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Fans of European soccer club Paris Saint-Germain were thrilled to
attend on July 21st but – in the absence of enough fans prepared
to wear masks properly – that kind of fan presence could
lead to the absolute worst (with COVID possibly enjoying a
monstrous monopoly).
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- While individual teams
have begun to announce differing plans for fans (from – GASP –
NO FANS to a limited percentage of myopic stans)
ALL fans attending NFL games in 2020 will be required
to wear a face covering (along with some expected social distancing
to avoid the usual, overzealous hovering).
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Though a face-covering mandate is a nice, low-hanging-fruit
thought, there is – again – no reasonable way to (kindly or
forcibly) improve how each mask-wearer has been taught (potentially
making such fan participation plans all for naught).
By the time that “one” fan (with the “malfunctioning” face covering)
is reached by stadium security, the problem will have already been
corrected, and that fan will be conveying plausible
deniability.
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- “And, AND” just
imagine the (expected-and-understandable) fan outcry when the NFL
(potentially) announces the availability of season tickets
through an online-only lottery system (designed to reasonably-solve
a LARGE disenfranchised fan chasm). Further envision a “right of
first refusal” being granted to 2019 season ticket holders (READ
“easier money”), and there could be quite the public spasm
(childish but not at all funny). People speak all the
time of “those among the 1%,” but being a lucky (?) member of the
NFL’s 50, 35, or 25% of “safely-allowable attendees” could leave
a great many fans totally bent.
NFL officials should be realistically-prepared to confess to
the pending attendance mess and pivot towards watch-from-home
solutions as the best, safest way to redress.-
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Trouble Without A Bubble?
The NFL's "COVID-19 Reserve List" currently includes at least 66
infected players (with hopeful fans and prognosticators continuing
to say their prayers). With each passing day that the now-famed
"NBA
Bubble" continues to succeed, those same fans and prognosticators
believe more and more that - without a similar approach to football
– available-and-healthy players the NFL may increasingly bleed.
The NBA’s bubble (for any sports fans living under a television-free
rock) can be most-appropriately described as a local-area lockdown
to best control viral trouble. While the NBA’s effort has been
impressive, the NFL’s much-thicker beard needs far more than the
NBA’s well-manicured stubble.
The very best part of what the NBA had planned was zeroing in on
“the happiest place on Earth,” with more than enough resorts for 22
teams, a king’s ransom of dining and entertainment choices, and
LOTS
of reasonably-secure land (to keep all but the most ninja-like of
unwanted, unplanned, and unexpected from getting out of hand).
YES,
Yes, yes, Disney proactively (and – perhaps –
bottom-line-desperately) offered their venue and services as the
ideal big-top circus tent (for which the NBA is paying more than
$150M in general rent).
(Not counting family delegations with special designations for
eventual quarantine initiations) NBA teams are allowed a maximum of
17 regular season players within the bubble, with playoff rosters
consisting of 15 players total (13 active and two inactive). NFL
teams are allowed up to 55 regular season and postseason players,
and the prospect of every single one of them being religious with
similar COVID-19 requirements is unattractive. Add in coaches, team
physicians, strength and conditioning staff, technical support
personnel, “jocks and socks” executives, and – perhaps – any
(inappropriate-but-insisted-upon) guests like Prince Bandar . . .
simply makes for a bridge too far.
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- While the bubble-free MLB began their 2020 season with 30-player
rosters (to be reduced to 28 two weeks later and 26 players for the
remainder of the year), a growing list of players and coaches (from
lifestyle-lax to unlucky viral attacks) have taken baseball’s
vehicle for success on a joyride and have been woefully unable to
steer. If people cannot fight the urge, COVID will continue to
surge.
Double MLB’s per-team count (along with practice squads to worsen
the odds), and the NFL’s challenges immeasurably mount because – at
the end of the day – overcoming “the human condition” is the ONLY
way. In the face of stupendously-simple CDC recommendations for
every understandably-frustrated man, woman, and child, too many
Americans (let alone sports stars) selfishly succumb to maintaining
their personal freeDUMB. Yup. Pretty wild.
A locked-down “performance bubble” is not something to be
mindlessly, selfishly popped. If but a few members of even one NFL
organization decide to (bribe a star-struck security detail in order
to clandestinely and stupidly) leave the COVID-cleansed safety of
their “Thunderdome” (daring to add "dyin' time"
during this tryin' time) for an In-And-Out double-double (without so
much as wearing a mask for the task), “and, AND” they return with an
avoidable, feverish burn . . . the already-dicey opportunity to
bring football back to the TV-glued-masses could be unceremoniously
stopped.
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“W-What about ‘divisional bubbles’ at a select team’s stadium
site?!” you desperately recite. Ever-evolving, state-level
quarantine rules – perhaps with few-to-no exceptions for
local-economy-boosting entertainment or a pro sports organization –
would easily put such thoughts on permanent vacation. And even if
that DID initially succeed, too many fools
(inconceivably-yet-believably) breaking the rules would make the
sacred air from those bubbles quickly bleed. G’night.
Will They Or Won’t They?
Will the NFL and NFLPA make use of precious lessons learned or (like
MLB) are they preparing to get burned?
Will perpetual pursuit of the all-mighty dollar, an unending thirst
for hero worship, and the chance to make fans of North America’s
most popular sport very happy . . . be no match for a virus so
incredibly crappy?
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- Will the NFL buck the “filthy human” trend and prove they
“don’t
need no stinking bubble” to avoid their own COVID rubble?
We shall see. We Always do.-
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Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
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