NFL Might Push Back Super Bowl Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
According to John Ourand and Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal, the NFL has a few alternate plans for the 2020 season in case it has to be delayed.
One option is that the start of the season would be pushed back five weeks, which would lead to the Super Bowl being played on February 28 instead of February 7.
It’s also possible the Pro Bowl would be canceled.
“Two weeks of early-season games could be shifted wholesale to the end of the season,” they wrote. “A third week would feature teams only playing opponents with the same bye week, so that week could be cut and byes eliminated leaguewide. These contingency-laden plans also include cutting the weekend between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, where the Pro Bowl is typically played, to allow another week to be lost to delays. Under such a plan, the Pro Bowl would not be played.”
The NFL plans to release a full 17-week schedule by next month, with the idea that it can still change.
“As we have said, we are committed to protecting the health of our fans, players, club and league personnel, and communities,” the NFL said in a statement to the Washington Post. “We look forward to the 2020 NFL season, and our guidelines and decisions will be guided by the latest advice from medical and public health officials, as well as current and future government regulations. We will continue to plan for the season and will be prepared to adjust as necessary, just as we have done with free agency, the draft, and now the offseason program.”
Wow! Well, it looks like we just have to wait it out….