After two seasons with some of the most rigorous health and safety protocols in all of sports, the NFL has decided that there’s no need to use them anymore.
On Thursday, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to suspend all aspects of the joint COVID-19 protocols with immediate effect. Per the memo, there will be no more mandatory masks, tracking devices, surveillance testing or capacity limits.
Cities and states where those laws are still in effect will be adhered to. Teams that wish to implement their own restrictions are also free to do so.
The NFL went through two seasons of pandemic-affected football. And while many players were forced to miss games due to the dangerous virus, not a single game was ultimately canceled.
Here’s the memo that just went to clubs on the NFL and NFLPA suspending all COVID-19 protocols. No more masks, tracking devices, mandatory surveillance testing or capacity limits, unless required by state and local law. pic.twitter.com/TIdvfCWr9m
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 3, 2022
This move marks the single biggest return to normalcy in the NFL since the onset of the pandemic. Thankfully, it appears that the virus is finally – mercifully – on a downward trend.
That isn’t to say that there weren’t any players adversely affected by it. But there weren’t nearly as many horror stories in the NFL as the wider U.S. and world population.
NFL fans and players should still exercise some caution though. COVID-19 hasn’t been eradicated just yet.
But for now, there’s a collective breathe we can all take with some confidence that we’ve finally turned a corner with this thing after so long.
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