As the coronavirus continues to spread across the country, the NFL and its fans continue to keep a constant eye on how the virus could affect the upcoming 2020 season.
COVID-19 cases continue to spike nationwide, but some areas with NFL teams have seen fewer daily cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days than others. The NFL Players Association released data from Johns Hopkins University on the metropolitan areas for every team in the league. The New York City-New Jersey-Pennsylvania area, home to plenty of Jets and Giants fans, rank among the lowest with just 3.5 daily cases per 100,000 people as of July 15.
In mid-April, that number hovered around 61 per 100,00 people, showing just how far the area has come in slowing the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, the national average hovers around 16.8 daily cases per 100,000 people over that same stretch.
The cumulative case number and cumulative death rate, though, remain well above the national average – likely because of the initial outbreak in New York City and New Jersey at the beginning of the pandemic. The area’s cumulative cases per 100,000 people are still relatively high at 2,591 – compared with the national average of 1,022 – while the cumulative death rate remains high, too, at 223 per 100,000 compared to the national average of 41. Fortunately, the death rate has dropped to the national average of 0.2 deaths per 100,000 over a 14-day period.
The New York Times, which aggregated data from state and local health officials, broke it down even further into daily average cases over a seven-day period. New York City and New Jersey saw declines in daily average cases with 317 and 324, respectively, while Pennslyvania saw an increase with 792, as of July 15. That fits in line with data from the Centers for Disease Control, which reports New York City totaled 2,285 cases in the past seven days. New Jersey had 2,239 and Pennsylvania had 5,579.
This is all could be moot, though, considering the NFL still doesn’t have a solidified plan for keeping players, staff and other team personnel safe. According to the NFLPA, 72 known players have already tested positive for COVID-19, but teams still don’t know what the league will do if a player tests positive during the season.
NFL players have also been working out across the country – either on their own or with other players – so it’s had to gauge how their return to their respective teams will affect the spread. Sam Darnold worked out in California and Florida, Jamison Crowder went to North Carolina, and Chris Herndon and Steve McLendon have been in Georgia.
In response to a lack of information, Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt tweeted a list of demands players want from the league before returning to play, including an Infectious Disease Emergency Response (IDER) plan, testing protocols and a plan for training camp, which is scheduled to begin on July 19 for rookies and July 28 for veterans. The only thing players know for sure is they won’t be allowed to swap jerseys after games, something Jamal Adams said he would still do despite the league’s instance on social distancing after games.
Then there’s the big elephant in the room – money. The NFLPA and the league are reportedly fighting over keeping a portion of the players’ salaries to lighten the burden of a potential revenue loss. The league could lose billions of dollars if fans aren’t allowed at stadiums this season, and the salary cap could decrease as well. Philadelphia already announced fans wouldn’t be able to attend Eagles’ home games this season, while other teams like the Jaguars and Patriots plan to open stadiums to fans at minimal capacity.
There’s no word on if Metlife Stadium will be open to fans, but New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said there’s “some hope” Jets and Giants fans will be able to attend games this season