National Football Leave: 60+ Players Opt-Out, 56 Test COVID Positive

by mcardinal

Ian Patrick, FISM News

 

The NFL season is ramping up in the era of Covid-19, and some players won’t be a part of it.

 

There was an August 6th deadline for opting out from this season. More than 60 players have decided to sit this season out, and the league will pay them $150,000 as a “salary advance,” according to CNBC. This is meant to be paid back by the players at some point.

 

The league also allowed players with medical issues who have a greater risk of getting Covid-19 to sit out.  Issues considered by the league include “asthma, Type 2 diabetes, organ transplants, and neurological conditions.” These medically disadvantaged players, if approved for a claim of any such conditions before the pandemic, receive a $350,000 stipend that is not required to be repaid if they return in 2021 on the same team.

 

Even as players opt-out due to the increased risk of Covid-19, that doesn’t mean that some don’t already have it. NBC Sports reported that the NFL Players Association counted 56 of its players who have tested positive for Covid-19. This number “represents approximately 2 percent of the players currently on NFL rosters.”

 

Sourced from CNBC and NBC Sports

 

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