Will They Have Contact?

NFL players have a few more days to opt out for the season.

Whenever it happens, it gives someone a chance at a roster spot or practice squad. It impacts more than one player.

The Pats re-signed WR Will Hastings after cutting him. He played at Auburn with QB Jarrett Stidham.

They still have roster spots to fill. More opportunities.

Will they ever have a contact practice?

Nate Is Helping

The New York Post had a great story of the decision by Giants LT Nate Solder to opt out of the 2020 season.

As a six year cancer survivor with his own situation, he has dealt with one his young children having a rare form of cancer.

He is walking away from around $13 million this season.

He didn't have the greatest season last year. Many wanted him cut to save money on the salary cap.

He made it easy for them by opting out.

Not Some Conspiracy

Boston sports talk-shows are filled with conspiracy theories on why players on the Pats opted out of the 2020 season.

Guys like Donta Hightower, Patrick Chung and Marcus Cannon are leaving huge amounts of money on the table. They are not trying to stick it to Coach Belichick.

With their opting out, they are actually helping the Pats with the salary cap.

Eight and Counting

The Pats lead the NFL with eight players who have opted out of the 2020 season. More will probably join the list.

They include LB Donta Hightower, OL Marcus Cannon, S Patrick Chung, RB Brandon Bolden and FB Dan Vitale. All were expected to play major roles, but things happen.

It will certainly give younger players an opportunity to get on the field.

They Won't Play Ball Tonight

The NFL and other sports leagues will be closely watching MLB and their reaction to members of the Miami Marlins being infected with Covid-19.

The fact that 13 players tested positive raises many flags. The next few days should be interesting.

The 2020 Season Played On

It's easy to see why the NFL wants to play the season in light of the pandemic.

The $16 billion revenue stream will take a $4 billion hit from fans not being at stadiums. That will impact the salary cap for 2021 based on the CBA.

It will be week by week this season to get to the end.

Street Players 2020

This is not a good time to be a veteran free agent. So many jobs have been eliminated with the reduction of the training camp roster.

Some players can wait forever for the right deal, but so many veteran players have no team and future.

Chances Lost

The NFL has agreed to have only 80 players in training camp, instead of the usual 90. This will make the social distancing logistics a bit easier in light of the pandemic.

Since there will be no preseason games, it will make roster evaluation a priority.

The biggest impact will be on the fringe players who were only looking for a chance to show something in training camp.

It impacts ten players per team and 320 around the league.

Some of these players will never get another opportunity. Many will give up on their dream and move on with their life.

High School Football Is Great

Massachusetts high school football might start on Sept 14, but who knows in these crazy times.

It doesn't sound like any team will play a complete schedule of opponents if that ever happens.

Too Soon For Bowling

Nobody knows for certain whether football will start on time at any level.

Some high school leagues are getting ready to make the call. Others are moving it to spring like a number of colleges.

The NFL opens training camp next week and will probably have no preseason games.

It's too far into the future to wonder if the 38 college bowl games get played.

Football can get started, but can it finish the season?

Those Unwanted Games

It's good to see that the NFL & NFLPA have agreed on daily Covid- 19 testing for the first two weeks of training camp.

Where do they go from there with preseason games? They need to make a decision soon.

Maybe In Spring 2021

There is talk about trying to play high school football in spring in light of the pandemic. Things continue to look worse for starting it up with the student athletes soon.

It would create havoc with the spring sports, especially track and field which often draws football players.

If games get postponed until spring, will they really get played?

Wear The Shield

Oakley has designed a great face shield for the players. Over 700 wore some type of protection during the 2019 season.

Being able to breathe through them has been an issue with NFLPA.

There are so many unresolved issues before the start of training camp, especially with player safety.

Training Camp Questions

With training camps scheduled to start on July 28th, NFL teams are still in the dark about the preseason schedule and the testing protocols for Covid-19.

The NFLPA continues to work with owners to determine the best way to get things going. Should testing be done daily or every other day? How many preseason games will teams play?

The medical situation is very fluid and changing daily.

The goal is to start and finish the season. Will that happen?

Dak's Money

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott was determined to get the last dollar from the team during contract negotiations.

He turned down a multi-year deal that would've paid him in the $33-35 million range, with $100 million guaranteed.

After earning $2.7 million during his first four seasons, he will play under the franchise tag for $31.4 million this season.

He will continue to strike a new deal, but owner Jerry Jones will only go so far.

What Will Jackson Do?

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson certainly benefitted from the contract extension signed by Patrick Mahomes.

Some are saying that he won't get the type of money Mahomes got until he wins a Super Bowl.

Mahomes seems to tied to the Chiefs for the rest of is career.

Would Jackson take a shorter term deal and become a free agent before he is thirty?

So much can change for the stars in the league. Just ask Cam Newton.

Mr Subway

There was a lot of buzz today about Coach Belichick filming a commercial for Subway at a store in Branford, Connecticut.

He has never done any type of commercial endorsements. He could've made a fortune over the years. Why now?

If he ever decides to stop coaching, he will have television networks lining up with barrels of money for him.

Did he talk to Peyton Manning about the opportunities out there?

More Just Fall

College Football is losing games daily. The latest was the Patriot League, featuring Holy Cross and a great group of teams.

High schools are staring at a questionable future.

Losing A Big Check

The UMass football program has struggled since their move to Division 1. They play an independent schedule with some very tough opponents.

They are scheduled to play Auburn this year and will pocket $1.8 million for taking a beating.

The program needs the money and exposure, but the game might not be played as the SEC is looking at canceling non-conference games in light of the pandemic.

Ring of Gordon

Former Pats WR Josh Gordon plans to auction his Super Bowl LIII ring that he earned during the 2018 season.

He never made it to the playoffs due to his suspension for violating the league's drug policy. Coach Belichick awarded him one, based on his contributions.

Everyone will speculate the reasons for him selling it, in light of his numerous suspensions.

He doesn't need to share his thoughts with the world unless he wants to.

It Started With The Big 10

The college football scene gets cloudier day by day. The Big 10 announced that it will only play conference opponents in all of their fall sports.

Later in the day, the PAC 12 followed.

Both of these developments leave a number of schools with vacant dates on their schedule.

Do they want to play these games in light of the pandemic?

More dominos will fall.

Ivy Times

The pandemic has created a slow drip by drip on the collegiate football season.

Fordham has canceled its first three games. The Ivy League said it will play in the spring.

That's fine for their seven schools, but they all play three non-conference games with teams who will now have one less game to play.

Marque Money

Peyton Manning is on top of the leader board for collecting royalties from NFL merchandise related to him. He topped the list with a check for $3.36 million, in spite of being retired.

Tom Brady was second with $2.99 million, followed by Patrick Mahomes at $2.78 million.

Saquon Barkley, Dak Prescott and JuJu Smith-Schuster all hit the $2 million mark.

JJ Watt lead the defense at around than $1 million.

More Jobs For Players

The pandemic has created extra opportunities for players due to the increase in size of the active roster and practice squad.

The roster while increase from 53 to 55, with two additional ones being active on game day for a total of 48.

The practice squad will add four players to round out at 14. There will also be a weekly pay increase of $2,500 to $10,5000.

This is a great chance for players who would never make it out of training camp due to the numbers game.

Richest Deal Ever

Chiefs QB Patrik Mahomes set the new standard for professional sports contracts when he signed a ten-year $503 million extension that will keep him with the team through 2031.

It seem like a crazy amount of money to pay anyone, but the market was there for him. It includes $477 million in guaranteed money.

Mahomes is already a reigning Super Bowl MVP and has nothing but potential ahead of him.

Hopefully, his career lasts long enough to get all of his cash.

Who Will Stay Away?

There are so many things that NFL teams need to deal with to get to the point of having training camp.

One of the concerns is the health of older coaches or those with underlying medical issues.

MLB has seen a few coaches decide to stay at home and try to do their job through a video conferencing and other methods.

It's only a matter of time before teams have this issue with their staff.

Health is the most important thing.

Who Will Last?

One MLB player summed it up when he said the champion will be the last one standing who has not lost key players to the Coronavirus.

The same holds true for the NFL, NBA and NHL. Nobody can predict the future in the next few months.

They Played Six

The 2020 season changes daily because of the pandemic.

The NFLPA team representatives voted unanimously to recommend that the entire preseason schedule of games be canceled.

The league said they will study it. Other than revenue, there is no logical reason to play these games even during normal times.

It's hard to believe they once played six preseason games.

Positive About That

Will the NFL have players testing positive for Coronavirus when training camp opens? It seems inevitable.

When MLB started summer camps today, they had 19 players who tested positive. Will that number increase?

The NHL and NBA face the same challenge as they try to reopen.

Who Starts?

Boston sports talk radio is already filled with everything Cam Newton. Is he the starting quarterback? Are the Pats unhappy with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer?

In light of Covid-19, it would be foolish to keep only two quarterbacks on the roster. Cam gives them so many options.

Nobody is the starter at this point. The team has never been together on the field in 2020.

Fewer Games or Not

It looks like the NFL wants to cancel the preseason games for Weeks 1 and 4. Games would be played Aug 20-24 and 27-31.

This needs the agreement by the NFLPA before it's a done deal.

Covid-19 is making everything a challenge to play games, but there is no other way.