The NFL sent a memo to teams on Wednesday containing rules for the off-season programs – rules imposed by the league after failing to reach agreement with the players’ union on a number of important aspects.
The parts of the offseason program that are voluntary under the CBA – all but the annual mandatory June minicamps – remain that way. But while the NFLPA has publicly called for the entire off-season to take place virtually in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the league is telling teams that work on the field will be allowed.
Phase 1 of the offseason schedule, which reflects what the players have asked for, will run from April 19 to May 14. All meetings will be virtual and no fieldwork is allowed. The league says it wants to use this phase to focus on vaccination efforts and make vaccines available to players, team personnel and their families as soon as their various local regulations permit.
Phase 2 runs from May 17 to May 21. It remains voluntary and meetings remain virtual, but field exercises are allowed under the normal Phase 2 guidelines (which prohibit contact and the amount of time per day). The annual post-draft rookie minicamps are held the week of phase 2.
Phase 3 will be a traditional Phase 3 running from May 24 to June 18 and will include the normal 10 days of voluntary OTA work as well as the mandatory minicamps. Meetings during this phase will be held virtually or in person and the COVID-19 rules on testing, contact tracking and limits on the number of people allowed in different parts of the team facility will be applied.
Players who participate virtually in meetings or training sessions are still entitled to their $ 250 per day, which was a key part of the NFLPA’s request during the negotiation of off-season programs.
The league does not require players or staff to be vaccinated, but is awaiting response from the NFLPA on its vaccine-related proposal that would relax COVID restrictions for vaccinated players and for teams with staff reaching a certain percentage of vaccinations. Under the league’s proposal, players who have been vaccinated would be subjected to less testing and contact tracking restrictions, and would have more freedom of movement around the team facility and beyond. Teams with players and staff that pass a certain percentage of vaccinations would be subject to more relaxed COVID protocols, as would teams in other professional leagues.
The NFLPA has publicly said it believes the off-season program should be exclusively virtual, and is urging its members not to attend the portions of the program that are voluntary under the CBA. The union recognizes that 203 players have training bonuses in their contracts that require them to attend off-season training in order to receive those bonuses, and it does not actively discourage those players from doing so, although the union is trying to convey a broader message that players should should do. stop signing contracts that include bonuses for attending off-season voluntary training sessions.