NFL Offers Zero Preseason Games to NFLPA

Over the past week, the NFL has gained momentum in negotiations over policies regarding the league’s return to play for the 2020 NFL season. One of the biggest points of contention has been between the league and the NFLPA about whether any preseason games will be played. Throughout the entirety of the negotiations it has been reported that the NFLPA has remained steadfast on its demand to reduce the number of preseason games to zero.

It has been a slow process to get there with the NFL first cutting the number of games down to two earlier this month and earlier this week reportedly offering to cut it down to one. This is a rare win for the NFLPA but it seems that it was able to leverage the pressure being put on the league this last week from players and owners alike. These negotiations have been just one of the lynchpin discussions going on this week after the league dragged its feet over the past few months. There are still hurdles to clear with players reporting to training camps this week and the results of the initial COVID-19 still to be revealed, but it is encouraging that the NFL appears to be amenable to the player’s demands since the rest of the negotiations still to happen needed to move quickly.

It seems that the league has boxed itself in but that may be a good thing in the long run. In a sport where the owners and league hold a disproportionate amount of power over their players, this may build some momentum for the players to get more rights and benefits in the future such as guaranteed salaries or more injury benefits on their contracts. That does offer the question about whether or not the NFLPA should holdout a bit longer especially at such a pivotal point. Although it is risky this may be the leverage that they have needed to get more benefits and player’s rights. Discussions like these are never over until the dotted line is signed and there still may be an impasse in talks but every day it seems like we are getting closer to seeing football in September, a reality that seemed almost impossible a few months ago.