NEWS: How Player Boycott Could Jeopardize The NFL Scouting Combine

The NFL has lit a fire that may be even too dangerous for the multi-billion cooperation to extinguish.

A memo sent to combine participants just less than two weeks away from the event, informed players, agents and trainers, that prospects will be allowed to engage with just one medical support person, rather than a team of support staff that is normally accustomed.

The NFL scouting combine just informed draft prospects they’ll be in a “bubble” in secure locations next month in Indianapolis, with limited exceptions: “Players who violate this policy at any time will be disqualified from further participation and sent home.” From the memo: pic.twitter.com/oThXaLSCQ7

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 19, 2022

It’s an action that could result in severe consequences and ramifications if they’re not careful. What the league is about to find out fast is that the top players do not need to participate in their ‘made for TV' event, which generates millions of dollars in revenue. In fact, this could be the end of the NFL Combine as we know it.

Multiple reports have since indicated that 155 players (48% of invites), represented by 13 different agencies are prepared to announce a formal boycott of the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine on Monday if the ‘bubble’ restrictions are not lifted by the league.

The NFL Combine is considered ‘the biggest job interview of their life,’ for any college player with pro aspirations. Invited prospects train months in advance for the event with world-class trainers, often times paid for by their agents, in an effort to ensure that these athletes are able to perform at their peak performance.

Due to the new restrictions, many of the player’s support team will now be on the ‘outside-looking-in.’ The NFL Draft Bible spoke to one trainer who represents the potential number one overall pick and wondered aloud, “why did we book trips to Indy and rent out suites to work and prepare with our clients?”

The last-second notice after a mask-less Super Bowl just two weeks ago and a league-owned HBCU Legacy Bowl event this past weekend with no COVID-protocol restriction remains under the microscope.

This year’s NFL Combine is an example of what happens when players are not yet represented by a union

— JC Tretter (@JCTretter) February 20, 2022

While the agent community continues to set aside their differences and work together in toppling the NFL-imposed dictatorship, many industry professionals, including media members wait to see how the stalemate unfolds.

Indeed. I can’t say anything with my name on it because I could get punished but reality here is the event is being ruined. I truly hope we see a boycott from top players so they will stop doing this. The combine wasn’t meant to make money. It’s meant for us to get accurate info. https://t.co/wWIc3fmzcg

— AngryScoutVet (@NotSoAngryScout) February 20, 2022

Will the NFL cave into the pressure? Have we seen the last of the traditional NFL Combine format? Will the next generation of NFL players recognize that interviews and medical evaluation are voluntary but workouts are ‘work,’ hence they deserve compensation for this mega-money event?

It is going to make for an exhilarating week for commissioner Roger Goodell and Park Avenue! Be sure to check back at NFL Draft Bible as we continue to update this fluid situation….

More than 150 players, through their agents, are threatening to boycott workouts and other activities at the NFL scouting combine if the league does not ease its "bubble" restrictions planned for Indy, source confirms, as @RapSheet and @TomPelissero and @ProFootballTalk reported.

— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) February 21, 2022

Notable 2022 NFL Scouting Combine Attendees

A few of the top prospects invited to the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine

WR Treylon Burks, Arkansas

CB Tariq Woolen, UTSA

DL DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M

WR Chris Olave, Ohio State

DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon

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