NFL lays out guidelines for reopening team facilities

The NFL has set guidelines for reopening team facilities, with the league still tentatively planning to play the 2020 season as scheduled in the fall.

Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday evening distributed a memo outlining multiphase protocols, The Associated Press reported. Phase one will involve approving a limited number of nonplayer personnel inside the facilities on any given day, according to the AP. The guidelines would allow for up to 75 such employees initially, but state-specific protocols on gathering size could reduce that number.

Individual teams would decide which employees are allowed to return to their facilities, the AP noted. During the initial phase, no players would be allowed in the facilities for reasons other than therapy and rehabilitation that was already in process in late March, when Goodell ordered the sites closed.

“While these protocols have been carefully developed and reflect best practices,” Goodell wrote, according to the AP, “they can also be adapted and supplemented to ensure compliance with any state and local public health requirements.”

The guidelines also state that local and state government officials must consent to reopening, and that each club must secure what the league deems a sufficient amount of needed supplies.

The NFL is also developing workplace guidelines that include a requirement for face coverings in any setting other than a closed office. Workers should also practice social distancing, minimum contact and telework wherever possible. The league is also discouraging nonessential business travel and will remove retail activity and in-person ticket sales to ensure no direct contact with fans.

The league will encourage all employees, including players, to routinely take their temperature at home before traveling to their team’s facility and stay at home if it is elevated. Daily screenings for all employees, visitors, contractors and service providers will be conducted at team sites, according to the AP.

The NFL’s medical director, Allen Sills, will also discuss the guidelines with the infection control officer and physician of each team, according to the AP.