Report: NFL Puts Together Ticket Refund Plan Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The Athletic's Jay Glazer reported on Tuesday that "every indication points toward" the NFL playing the full 2020 season schedule with fans in stadiums.  

However, the NFL is still preparing for the worst as the COVID-19 crisis wears on.

According to the Associated Press' Barry Wilner, Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the league's 32 teams outlining a ticket refund plan. Goodell wrote, in part:

"All clubs will have in place a policy under which, if a game is cancelled, or is played under conditions that prohibit fans from attending, anyone purchasing a ticket directly from the club (i.e., season tickets, group sales and/or partial season plans) will have the option of either receiving a full refund or applying the amount paid toward a future ticket purchase directly from the club."

Wilner added that Ticketmaster and SeatGeek will make full refunds available, but StubHub will dictate its refund policy by state law requirements.

Major League Baseball adjusted its ticket policy to allow each of its 30 clubs to allow refunds, as the 2020 season was unable to start as originally scheduled on March 26 and has yet to begin:

MLB had been sued by New Yorkers Matthew Ajzenman and Susan Terry-Bazer, who are "seeking refunds for anyone who bought regular season tickets for games canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19, and for the defendants to contact ticketholders to ensure they know their rights."

The class-action suit was filed on April 20.

The NFL is presumably trying to avoid a similar problem.

It announced on Monday that the 2020 regular-season schedule will be released on Thursday. As of now, the league's 101st season is scheduled to begin on Sept. 10.