On the eve of the NFL releasing its schedule for the 2020 season, the league wanted to make sure hopes don’t get too high, with the sports landscape still uncertain.
In a memo addressed to clubs Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell urged team officials not to comment publicly on hypotheticals surrounding the 2020 season, in an attempt to make sure no team — including the outspoken among its ownership — mixes the message the league wants to put out.
“The past few months have been among the most uncertain times that any of us has experienced,” the memo begins. “It is impossible to project what the next few months will bring. Uninformed commentary that speculates on how individual clubs or the league will address a range of hypothetical contingencies serves no constructive purpose and instead confuses our fans and business partners, complicates the operations of other clubs, and distracts from the careful planning that is needed right now.
“We will continue to work in a deliberate and thoughtful way to plan for the 2020 season, including with [Thursday’s] schedule release, and we will be prepared to address any contingencies as they arise. Clubs should continue to direct questions and concerns to our office and not comment or speculate publicly.”
With the NFL season not scheduled to start until September, the league does not yet need to make the tough decisions facing MLB, which according to The Post’s Joel Sherman will soon propose a plan to start its season in July, or the NHL and NBA, which hope to finish seasons still on pause.
The NFL, meanwhile, is working on its own plan to reopen team facilities, which was spelled out in the league’s memo to owners.
“The first phase [of the league’s reopening protocol] would involve a limited number of non-player personnel — initially 50 percent of your non-player employees (up to a total of 75) on any single day unless state or local regulations require a lower number,” the memo said. “Clubs would decide which employees could return to the facility and when once facilities reopen. No players would be permitted in the facility except to continue a course of therapy and rehabilitation that was underway when facilities were initially closed.”
The NFL advised teams to have their facilities ready and up to league and local standards by May 15, putting teams in position to move quickly once a plan to return is announced.
“While these protocols have been carefully developed and reflect best practices,” the memo said, “they can also be adapted and supplemented to ensure compliance with any state and local public health requirements. Clubs should take steps to have these protocols in place by Friday, May 15 in anticipation of being advised when club facilities will formally reopen.”