NFL, NFLPA Agree To Begin A Virtual Offseason Amid Lockdown

• The NFL and NFLPA agreed to start a virtual offseason program that is voluntary for teams and players.
• The virtual offseason will begin on April 20 with the first part ending May 15.
• The agreement will allow players to still receive their offseason bonuses for participating in virtual programs.

NEW YORK — The NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement to jumpstart a virtual NFL offseason that would allow players to participate in voluntary workouts from home.

The agreement will allow players to receive their offseason bonuses for being at voluntary workouts and would allow new head coaches to start their offseason programs on April 20 while returning head coaches have to wait until April 27.

Teams will have the option to continue the virtual programs through May 18.

The deal will help veteran players who have been affected by the closure of the team facilities and will keep the NFL on track to begin when the countrywide lockdown is over. While these moves shouldn’t have any negative effects on NFL betting this season it shows that the league is doing all it can to be ready to have its regular season when the lockdown is over.

NFL Doing All It Can

The NFL is one of the professional sports leagues that hasn’t been too impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The league has only had to modify the 2020 NFL Draft thus far which will now be done virtually.

The virtual NFL Draft is still set to be on April 23 and will be the league’s first test of this type of technology during the offseason. Team executives and scouts have already held draft interviews with prospects through video calls and the like.

The coronavirus pandemic has shifted all of sports and the NFL has no timetable set for when facilities can reopen or if the regular season will be able to go on as planned. This latest agreement shows the NFL and NFLPA can continue to work together as the two sides also signed a new collective bargaining agreement earlier this offseason.