Football is kicking off again and if all goes well, we should see a season with the usual amount of games on. Needless to say, we are pretty damn excited for this!
But some things will not be the same compared to most years. In this article, we’ll update you on the latest on teams allowing fans in stadiums and what a very limited attendance means financially. We also have the full list of players who opted out of the season for you.
There will be very few fans in stadiums this year
Teams will not be allowed to fill up stadiums in 2020, and it will be interesting to see whether or not this will have an effect on home-field advantage. Will it still be beneficial to play at home, or is it not going to be the same without fans in the stands?
The rules regarding events vary state by state, and many teams are in talks with local governments in an attempt to come up with some sort of compromise with a limited capacity for fans in attendance. Others have announced that there will be no fans in home games throughout the season.
Here’s what we currently know about the plans of each team in terms of allowing fans in games:
Team | Plan |
Dallas Cowboys | Plan to allow fans, exact capacity TBA |
Pittsburgh Steelers | Plan to allow fans, exact capacity TBA |
Indianapolis Colts | Plan to allow fans with 25% capacity limit |
Jacksonville Jaguars | Plan to allow fans with 25% capacity limit |
Kansas City Chiefs | Plan to allow fans with 22% capacity limit |
Baltimore Ravens | Plan to allow 7,500 fans, proposal waiting approval |
Arizona Cardinals | No official announcement |
Buffalo Bills | No official announcement |
Carolina Panthers | No official announcement |
Cincinnati Bengals | No official announcement |
Cleveland Browns | No official announcement |
Denver Broncos | No official announcement |
Detroit Lions | No official announcement |
Los Angeles Chargers | No official announcement |
Los Angeles Rams | No official announcement |
Miami Dolphins | No official announcement |
Minnesota Vikings | No official announcement |
Philadelphia Eagles | No official announcement |
San Francisco 49ers | No official announcement |
Seattle Seahawks | No official announcement |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | No official announcement |
Chicago Bears | No fans until further notice |
New York Giants | No fans until further notice |
New York Jets | No fans until further notice |
Atlanta Falcons | No fans through at least Sept. |
Green Bay Packers | No fans through at least Sept. |
New England Patriots | No fans through at least Sept. |
Houston Texans | No fans through at least first home game |
New Orleans Saints | No fans through at least first home game |
Tennessee Titans | No fans through at least first home game |
Las Vegas Raiders | No fans for the 2020 season |
Washington Football Team | No fans for the 2020 season |
Teams will have tough financial situations
As we can see from the table above, teams will be facing massive cuts in game day revenue this year with little to no fans attending.
When we covered the new financial realities that leagues are facing earlier this summer, we mentioned that an analysis conducted for ESPN estimated a loss of about $2.3 billion in game-day revenues for the league if no fans are allowed in stadiums for the full season. That amounts to about $72 million in potential losses per team, although the reality is probably different between each team.
To help teams manage the massive loss of revenue that prospect entails, the league and NFL club executives have agreed to raise the debt limit of each franchise by $150 million.
The NFL is a cash machine, and the league will definitely be able to help teams through a year of tough times. It should also be noted that national revenues, mostly from TV deals, make up for huge chunks of the annual revenues of teams.
And many franchises have been smart enough to secure sources of income from non-traditional avenues as well. Take the Green Bay Packers, for example, who are now reaping the benefits and generating income from renting out developed land around Lambeau Field, while also managing a venture fund. The Packers have indicated that they might be able to pull off a profitable year in 2020 if they are allowed to have a small number of fans in attendance.
Diversifying investments is always a good idea and NFL teams are no different.
Players were given the chance to opt out of the season
The modified collective bargaining agreement gave players a chance to decide against playing in 2020 due to COVID-19 related concerns. High-risk individuals were given a $350,000 stipend, while other players opting out received a $150,000 salary advance for 2021.
The deadline has now passed, and more than 60 players decided to use the option and announced that they will not be participating this year.
The New England Patriots lost eight players, including key contributors in Dont’a Hightower, Marcus Cannon and Patrick Chung.
Only three teams in the Chargers, the Falcons and the Steelers had no players opting out.
Here’s the full list of players we’ll be missing in 2020:
San Francisco 49ers |
WR Travis Benjamin |
OT Shon Coleman |
C Jake Brendel |
Chicago Bears |
DT Eddie Goldman |
S Jordan Lucas |
Cincinnati Bengals |
OT Isaiah Prince |
DL Josh Tupou |
Buffalo Bills |
CB EJ Gaines |
DL Star Lotulelei |
Denver Broncos |
OT Ja’Wuan James |
DL Kyle Peko |
Cleveland Browns |
DT Andrew Billings |
OT Drake Dorbeck |
OG Drew Forbes |
OG Colby Gossett |
OG Malcolm Pridgeon |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
OT Brad Seaton |
Arizona Cardinals |
OT Marcus Gilbert |
Los Angeles Chargers |
– |
Kansas City Chiefs |
OG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif |
OL Lucas Niang |
RB Damien Williams |
Indianapolis Colts |
S Rolan Milligan |
LB Skai Moore |
S Marvell Tell |
Dallas Cowboys |
CB Maurice Canady |
WR Stephen Guidry |
FB Jamize Olawale |
Miami Dolphins |
WR Allen Hurns |
WR Albert Wilson II |
Philadelphia Eagles |
WR Marquise Goodwin |
Atlanta Falcons |
– |
New York Giants |
CB Sam Beal |
WR Da’Mari Scott |
OT Nate Solder |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
LB Lerentee McCray |
CB Rashaan Melvin |
DL Al Woods |
New York Jets |
WR Josh Doctson |
OL Leo Koloamatangi |
LB CJ Mosley |
Detroit Lions |
WR Geronimo Allison |
DL John Atkins |
C Russell Bodine |
Green Bay Packers |
WR Devin Funchess |
Carolina Panthers |
LB Jordan Mack |
LB Christian Miller |
New England Patriots |
RB Brandon Bolden |
OT Marcus Cannon |
S Patrick Chung |
LB Dont’a Hightower |
TE Matt LaCosse |
WR Marqise Lee |
OL Najee Toran |
FB Danny Vitale |
Las Vegas Raiders |
LB Ukeme Eligwe |
DB DJ Killings |
DE Jeremiah Valoaga |
Los Angeles Rams |
OT Chandler Brewer |
Baltimore Ravens |
OT Andre Smith |
WR De’Anthony Thomas |
New Orleans Saints |
TE Jason Vander Laan |
TE Cole Wick |
Seattle Seahawks |
OG Chance Warmack |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
– |
Houston Texans |
DL Eddie Vanderdoes |
Tennessee Titans |
OT Anthony McKinney |
Minnesota Vikings |
DL Michael Pierce |
Washington Football Team |
DL Caleb Brantley |
LB Josh Harvey-Clemons |
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