In October, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent out a saber-rattling memo to teams about the repercussions for violating pandemic protocols, the sharpest edge of his message rested on one passage. If you were a team owner, general manager or head coach, the redline for a COVID-19 outbreak inside your franchise was made crystal clear.
“Protocol violations that result in virus spread requiring adjustments to the schedule or otherwise impacting other teams will result in additional financial and competitive discipline, including the adjustment or loss of draft choices or even the forfeit of a game,” Goodell wrote.