How Many Football Players Might Opt Out of the 2020 Season?

The Best of SI looks at the next big hurdle the NFL will try to clear, and why it'll have a major impact on college football's chances of playing this season

The next big test of whether football can be played this fall won't be at Alabama or on any of the other college campuses. It'll be at the professional level, where teams are getting ready to report for training camps. 

The NFL is reportedly set to offer an opt-out proposal to the players' association, giving everyone the chance to sit out this season. 

“The deadline for making an all-or-nothing decision arrives on August 1, at 5:00 p.m. ET,” according to ProFootballTalk, which obtained a copy of the NFL’s proposal. “Written notice ‘must be received’ by the team before that moment; once notice is received as to a given player, the opt out becomes irrevocable. Thus, unlike a holdout (which can end at any time), the player who opts out cannot play at all in 2020.”

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told reporters during a conference call Friday that team doctors have “a couple reservations,” according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, but have given the green light to begin training camp. 

Under the agreement, if the union agrees to it, players can receive $150,000 (minus any amounts received in 2020), but won’t earn any part the base salary or other payments, and his contract will be reinstated in 2021. 

This option can be exercised by any player, including rookies on 90-man rosters.

“If you were an undrafted player who could not make [the] team, why not opt out?” one team executive told Mike Florio, referring to players who might’ve received a small four- or five-figure signing bonus after April’s draft.

On top of that, the players' union has asked for daily testing to help minimize the risk, especially with the ongoing spikes in positive coronavirus cases in states like California, Arizona, Florida and Texas.

"We believe that daily testing is important, especially given some of these hotspots, and we don't right now plan on changing in that position," union president J.C. Tretter of the Browns said, per GiantsCountry's Patricia Traina. "It doesn't mean that we won't continue to talk about it, but we were clear about our belief that daily testing is going to be necessary."

One has to wonder how many players will take the offer, which could greatly change everyone's outlook on playing any football this fall, at any level. Recently, the league announced that 72 out of approximately 2,800 players (2.5 percent) were positive after the latest round of testing.

It could soon be an even bigger question at the collegiate level, especially for players who can enter the 2021 NFL Draft. Is playing worth the risk? 

The league's official reporting dates are Tuesday for rookies, Thursday for quarterbacks and injured players, and July 28 for everyone else. Some could be delayed, though, due to local restrictions in various states. 

Meanwhile, a Buffalo councilman is worried about the safety of Bills fans, whether they are allowed to attend games or not. When talking about the issues in curtailing tailgating councilman Conor Flynn said this about fans wearing masks, "We've had a difficult enough time getting people to not jump through flaming tables. I have concerns about our ability to enforce mask wearing in that sort of environment."

Sports Illustrated host Robin Lundberg and SI media columnist Jimmy Traina discussed Flynn's quote and the penchant Bills fans have for interesting pre game practices.

College Football

In addition to the news that Alabama could fill its Week 1 opening on the schedule with BYU, there was a lot going in the sport over the past couple of days. 

• A ACC-Big-12-SEC scheduling alliance could save top non-conference matchups.

• Remember Mark Hudspeth? The former Mississippi State assistant and Louisiana head coach took over for Will Healy at Austin Peay last year and led the Governors to a program-record 11 wins and their first-ever playoff appearance. He abruptly resigned two weeks ago to spend more time with his family. Turns out, he was serving a 20-day suspension at the time and not allowed on university grounds.

• Bruce Feldman: Should the Group of Five and FCS move their seasons to the spring?

• A former Florida State assistant is suing the school.

Play by Play

Verne Lundquist, who retired from calling college football for CBS in 2016, turned 80 years old on Friday. 

A lot of SEC fans simply know him from just doing college football games on CBS, but he also called the NFL, the NBA, college basketball, golf and the Olympics.

In honor of the legendary broadcaster, we have some of his biggest calls, which Crimson Tide fans may want to skip due to on play in particular, but also the following story he told about being in the movie: "Happy Gilmore." 

The lighter side

• Dwight Howard was busted for not wearing a mask after a hotline tip.

• The trailer for Season 5 of Last Chance U.

• Trevor Lawrence got engaged in Death Valley.