NFL Players Association Emphasizes Safety, Ahead of Training Camp Start

Here are some key takeaways from the hour-plus call with NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and President J.C. Tretter.

The NFL remains intent on starting training camps on schedule, their doctors assuring representatives of the NFL Players Association that everything possible has been done to ensure the safest possible work environment is in place ahead of the players’ anticipated arrival in the coming days.

But while it does potentially look as though camps will open as scheduled—the Giants rookies are set to report July 21 and the veterans on July 28—that doesn’t mean that the players and the league are on the same page regarding all the aspects affecting the upcoming season.

In a video conference call with members of the Pro Football Writers of America, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and player rep union leader J.C. Tretter of the Cleveland Browns likened the NFL situation to the league being a factory that establishes when it opens and the CBA outlining the obligations under which the players perform their work responsibilities.

But where the two sides continue to differ is how to ensure the safest possible work environment and some financial ramifications that could result if the COVID-19 virus prohibits fans from attending games this fall.

Here are a few of the takeaways from the call.

NFLPA Still Wants Daily Testing

Union President JC Tretter noted that with some states experiencing soaring numbers in positive COVID-19 cases, that the players would feel more at ease if daily testing was part of the workplace conditions.

“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,” Tretter said. “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.”

The challenge with daily testing, especially in states where the number of positive cases continues to soar, is turnaround time. Quest Diagnostics, believed to be one potential lab that will be used, released a statement on July 13, noting that despite the increased capacity to process tests, there is still the potential for a delay in getting the results.

Absent the NFL teams hiring their own lab workers to exclusively conduct the tests unless there is a rapid response test proven to be reliable available, the idea of daily testing, while no doubt providing peace of mind to the players, might not make sense if the results are going to be “stale” by the time a new test needs to be done.

There Needs to Be an Extended Ramp-Up 

One of the challenges for players during the unprecedented off-season was training and conditioning. Tretter noted that while some guys had access to facilities where they could adequately train, others did not, and as such, there is a concern that asking the players to jump right in without allowing for a proper ramp-up would do more harm than good.

Tretter said he was part of a series of calls with NFLPA and NFL medical experts who had data from the 2011 lockout and noted how there was an increase in soft tissue injuries even though during the lockout, players had access to gyms and training facilities, unlike they did during the pandemic.

“I would argue that guys are in worst physical shape coming out of this break then out of the lockout break,” Tretter said. “Then comparing it to the lockout and the injury spikes—the 25% of overall injuries, 44% hamstring strains over double the amount of Achilles injuries—how do you bring a guy back?”

The NFLPA is pushing for a ramp-up period that includes 21 days devoted to strength and conditioning at team facilities to allow players to get their bodies back into football shape. The union is then recommending “a slow ramp-up of non-padded practices” of about ten days and then 14 days allocated for padded practices.

Such a timeline would leave no room for preseason games. But it would also potentially pose another challenge in that players would have to be scheduled for workouts in shifts since large scale groups would not be permitted to workout simultaneously.

So if NFL teams go into camp with 80 players versus 90, as has been floated, and no workout group may consist of more than 20 guys at a time, that’s four groups. It’s not undoable—during a regular offseason, teams hold different group sessions to suit player schedules. In this case, added time would no doubt have to be allowed for the cleaning/disinfection of the weight rooms and equipment in between shifts.

The Union Will "Explore Its Options" if The League Doesn’t Budge on Certain Issues

A big question that came up is what happens if the NFL sticks to its stance that it has done everything feasible to create a safe work environment despite the additional concerns raised by the players?

Smith remained mum on that, saying that the union would "explore its options."

But what are those options? Could the stage a walkout despite having agreed to a CBA before the pandemic shut everything down?

Technically, that could be considered a violation of the agreement. Still, the players could file a grievance against the league if they believe that they have not been provided with the safest possible work environment. 

But that might be a hard hill to climb. For example, if the league provides testing three times a week and the players union wants to file a grievance citing the lack of daily testing, the league’s counter-argument could be that it provides the testing multiple times per week.

There is no set number of positive cases that could lead to a team quarantine.

An excellent question was asked about how many positive cases on a single team could force a total quarantine.

NBC Sports' Peter King, who asked the question, also interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institutes for Health, where this same question was asked. Here is what Dr. Fauci told King:

“It is likely that if four of them are positive and they’ve been hanging around together, that the other ones that are negative are really positive. So I mean, if you have one outlier [only one player testing positive], I think you might get away. But once you wind up having a situation where it looks like it’s spread within a team, you got a real problem. You gotta shut it down.”

Fast forward to the present, and it doesn’t sound like the NFL and NFLPA are in agreement with a number.

”The lack of an absolute number is, like so many other things right now, caught up in discussions between the NFLPA and the NFL,” Smith said.

What About the Financial Implications?

One of the most significant issues still to be resolved are the financial ramifications of potential lost revenue on the salary cap.

Smith said some estimates could see next revenues this year drop by as much as $70 million per club, and that next year, the league could be looking at a salary cap around $120 million, a sharp decrease from the $215 million salary-cap figure projected for 2021.

Smith said there were two potential options. The first was that teams would either have to cut players or drastically renegotiate contracts to comply with the cap or try to arrive at estimates and adjust so there would be little to no impact on salaries or player benefits.

“The fundamental question that our leadership is dealing with is whether we stick with Option A (the reduced cap), and there's a significant downfall on the cap next year, or whether we figure out something that makes sure that that doesn't happen and is in the best interest of all,” Smith said.

While the financials are important, Tretter stressed that the priority remains the health and safety factor. “The economics that will be taken care of, but we can't get to the economics until we make sure our players are gonna be protected this year and help them say what goals are set up,” he said.

Andrew Whitworth Shares His Family’s Experience With the Virus

During the call, Rams offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth shared his personal story of how a relative of his had a “harmless lunch” with a friend and ended up becoming infected with the virus without realizing it. 

That relative ended up spreading the virus to Whitworth, his wife, and his children and then to his father-in-law, who was hospitalized (his father-in-law has since been released from the hospital and is thankfully doing better).

“It was definitely a scary thing to realize how contagious this is,” Whitworth said.

Whitworth’s story is a reminder that how all it takes is one innocent “slip up,” which could, in turn, result in multiple people being infected. Smith, at the end of the call, stressed the importance of wearing mask. 

“We're in a place right now where very simply what's good for the country is good for sports. And as something as simple as wearing a mask, we'll probably have the most significant impact on the extent and whether score returns in this country.”