Speculations Surrounding The Cancellation Of NFL Season Due To COVID-19

NFL fans were heartbroken earlier after news of a few games’ cancellations came in due to the global pandemic. However, sportscasters report that the games that were canceled would have no major setback to the NFL season as a whole. 

While other sports leagues like the NHL and the NBA have been reported to be functioning inside of a bubble, the NFL is still planning to go ahead with their full schedule of 256 games. 

The 2020 NFL preseason games were canceled after consulting all the members of the players association. Instead of the pre-games, the players took more time to practice for the actual game. Since all the offseason sports activities took place over the spring, the players said they wanted more time to practice before the NFL season officially begins. 

Initially, the league authorities thought of keeping a couple of preseason games because of the massive revenue they bring in. But, they eventually decided against it and said that they would instead focus on starting the regular 2020 NFL season. 

So, as of now, the NFL season is continuing as per their official schedule. The preseason game that was canceled included Ohio’s annual Hall of Fame Game. 

The planned schedule kicks off in September. In their regular-season schedule for 2020, the authorities said that they were working out contingencies to postpone some early season games if needed. 

For instance, the Tampa Bay Super Bowl game was said to be postponed by some weeks. They also said that they could possibly reschedule some of the early games to the end of the NFL season. Even the Pro Bowl was being speculated on getting canceled. However, none of these drastic measures have been deemed necessary yet. 

When Is The 2020 NFL Season Scheduled To Start? 

It will kickstart on Thursday, 10th September, at 8:20 pm ET. The first game is between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City chiefs. For the opening game of the NFL season, the Houston Texans are modest betting favorites – 115 to reigning champs the Kansas City Champs. 

The Thursday night opening tradition of the NFL is being continued by the billionaire owners who own different NFL teams. This news comes in even as the cases of positive COVID-19 is on the rise around the world. Medical experts have advised people to follow all the pandemic precautionary measures. 

The Kansas City chiefs are defending their title against the Houston Texans. Texans are one of the several teams that Kansas City Chiefs defeated in the last NFL season, which was considered as a major comeback for them. 

Rumors cropped up saying that the NFL season opener game was to be shifted to one of the newly built stadiums in last Vegas or Los Angeles. No official report has come of this yet. 

The NFL season start will be broadcasted live on NBC. Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels are going to feature in the network.