Major progress being made in NFL negotiations to begin the season – Behind the Steel Curtain

The NFL owners met via a conference call today to discuss the problems facing the NFL 2020 season.

Hours later there was a report that one concession players had been fighting for was agreed to, with NFL owners agreeing to daily Covid-19 testing for players.

Adam Schefter replied that the negotiations are getting closer on most issues.

While many have been skeptical that the NFL season would be able to start on time, any agreements that come out of todays meeting will make it a lot more plausible.

From the article linked:

NFL players will be tested every day for the first two weeks of training camp, Dr. Allen Sills, the leagues chief medical officer, said in a conference call, and it is expected that players will need more than one negative test before first being allowed to enter team facilities.At the two-week mark, the rate of positive tests for those tested players, coaches and staff who are in close contact with the football team will be examined and if the rate of positive tests is below 5 percent, testing will move to every other day. Training camp is set to begin for the entire league July 28.

The testing will be handled by a national lab, so the NFL testing will not affect testing availability in NFL cities.

With a testing plan in place, one of the major hurdles to getting players to report is cleared. Adam Schefter tweeted that more progress was being made.

This is good news for football fans, with MLB and NHL players already working with their teams, and actual games approaching, the NFL has little excuse for messing up the start of their season.

This article will be updated with any further breaking news from todays owners meeting, so stay tuned to BTSC as more news about the 2020 season becomes available.

UPDATE: According to NFL Networks Tom Pelissero, players would have a two-day virtual session period between two days of testing.

A website has also been provided which outlines procedures HERE

UPDATE: The NFLPA has released a statement in regards to the Covid testing protocols.

UPDATE: After it was reported the NFL has offered zero preseason games, it has been reported the next issue on hand is about players who opt out of the season.

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Major progress being made in NFL negotiations to begin the season - Behind the Steel Curtain