Report: President Trump Believes NFL Season Should Start on Time Amid COVID-19

President Donald Trump wants to see the 2020 NFL season start on time amid potential concerns it will be delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski, Trump made his declaration Saturday during a call with major league sports commissioners. 

The report also noted Trump expressed his hope that sports leagues will be able to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September, but "it is currently unclear if medical experts find that to be a realistic timeline" because of the pandemic.

Speaking to reporters, California governor Gavin Newsom remains skeptical that his state will be ready to host NFL games with full stadiums by August or September:

Schefter and Wojnarowski wrote NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league "would love to lead the way" to restart the economy as soon as an "all clear" was given from public health officials. 

NFL reporter Gary Myers tweeted in late March that the league is still planning for a full 16-game schedule even if the start date has to be delayed and the Super Bowl possibly gets pushed back into March. 

NBC Sports' Peter King noted the NFL could delay the release of its 2020 schedule until May for additional time to plan for the possibility of a shortened regular season. The idea would be ensure teams are able to play all six divisional games and evenly split their home and road games. 

One major NFL event has already been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 draft is still scheduled for April 23-25, but Schefter reported Saturday that teams are preparing to conduct it virtually from their homes with club facilities closed. 

The 2020 NFL regular season is scheduled to begin on Sept. 10.