Last season was a trainwreck with COVID testing and positive tests forcing teams to reschedule games. During the 2020 season, 18 NFL games were postponed due to outbreaks within the team. Roger Goddell and the board are trying to get ahead of the schedule headache this season.
Since the vaccine has become readily available for most adults, the NFL is encouraging vaccination among all of its players. However, the line between encouraged and required has gotten blurry. The new protocol states that if a game is forfeited due to a COVID outbreak, athletes on both teams would fail to receive a paycheck that week.