The 60-game mini-season Major League Baseball assembled this summer was still long enough that a dozen or so health-concerned players, even a few stars, decided to skip it.
The NFL's player pool is more than twice as big as MLB's, groomed for fundamental extreme-contact activities of blocking, tackling and covering that are as inherently ripe for virus spread as any in sports. If the 2020 season can get off the ground this fall amid the global paralysis of the COVID-19 pandemic, players opting out will be a sure bet.
For those who choose to sideline themselves with a medically approved high-risk condition, will they continue to receive their salary and benefits and accrue a season toward free agency eligibility?