False Positives Hit the NFL Over The Weekend

• The NFL faced its biggest number of positive COVID-19 test results over the weekend but it turns out that all 77 positive tests were false positives.
• The Bio Reference lab classified it as contamination during test preparation and now all players who were put on the list are cleared for practice on Monday.
• Minnesota Vikings who find themselves in the middle of the pack for odds to win Superbowl 55 has 12 players receive a false positive.

NEW YORK - The NFL was able to clear a large number of players of the coronavirus after further test results proved the original tests were false positives over the weekend.

A total of 77 people and 11 teams were affected by what is being called an “isolation contamination during test preparation” that caused inaccurate positive COVID-19 results.

This mistake caused altered practice schedules and missed practice including Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen who missed Sunday’s practice.

To the NFL and NFL bettors’ luck, this massive number of false positives occurred before the season began.

The implications a situation such as false positives could have on NFL betting lines are massive. Having a starter such Josh Allen sit out due to a botched exam could easily shift the odds towards any Buffalo Bills opponent.

The 77 samples were retested at the BioReference lab in New Jersey and they all came back negative. The NFL also conducted a point of care test on Sunday that came back negative for all of the samples as well.

The league hired BioReference and uses the five labs around the country for their daily test, the New Jersey lab was the only lab to have false positives in the weekend tests.

"On August 22, BioReference Laboratories reported an elevated number of positive COVID-19 PCR test results for NFL players and personnel at multiple clubs,” said Bio Reference in a statement. “The NFL immediately took necessary actions to ensure the safety of the players and personnel. Our investigation indicated that these were most likely false positive results, caused by an isolated contamination during test preparation in the New Jersey laboratory. Reagents, analyzers and staff were all ruled out as possible causes and subsequent testing has indicated that the issue has been resolved. All individuals impacted have been confirmed negative and informed."

The teams that were affected the most by these false test results were Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, and the Chicago Bears with all of these teams having over nine individuals put on the coronavirus list.

The Vikings (+2500), the team that has the best odds to win the Super Bowl out of these teams, had 12 individuals to have a false positive test.

The NFL has been experiencing very low infection rates during training camp so far and now that all of the names of the false positives have been removed from the COVID-19 list, there are only three players on the list.

All 77 individuals, the players, staff members, and coaches, can resume their normal schedule and activities on Monday according to the NFL and NFLPA agreed training camp protocol.