Roger Goodell: 'Tremendous' Optimism NFL Stadiums Will Be Full Capacity Next Season

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Wednesday that he has a “tremendous amount of optimism and excitement that we’ll have full stadiums across our league this season.”

Goodell added that if the season started today, the large majority of teams would be able to play at capacity, while adding an update on the league's progress with getting staffers vaccinated:

Goodell did not provide an answer on the vaccination rate amongst the players, though he did provide an update on the rate of positive tests for COVID-19:

"We're still operating in environment where COVID is out there," he told reporters. "We'll continue to stay on top of that with the priority on keeping players safe."

With fans returning in greater capacity to NBA arenas during the postseason, there is ongoing hope that a return to full capacity at sporting events in the United States is imminent as more and more citizens are vaccinated. 

The CDC has reported that 165,074,907 U.S. citizens, or 49.7 percent of the population, has received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 131,850,089 people (39.7 percent of the population) is fully vaccinated.

Additionally, 50.3 percent of citizens 18 or older and 74.1 percent of citizens 65 years or older have been fully vaccinated.