Report: NFLPA Pushing to Spread Out Financial Hit Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic

The NFL Players Association is hoping to spread out any financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic over the duration of the 11-year collective bargaining agreement rather than absorbing it over the next two years.

Tom Pelissero of NFL.com shared the memo that NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and president J.C. Tretter sent to agents Wednesday:

Dan Graziano and Kevin Seifert of ESPN reported Friday that the NFLPA "favors a plan that would spread the revenue hit out over several years, keeping the salary cap flat or increasing it only slightly until revenues are caught up. The owners prefer to take the hit in the short term and then quickly return to the annual rate of cap growth the league has seen over the past decade."

If the league and its players only spread the hit out over the next two years, for instance, the market for free agents could be severely depressed because teams would have less wiggle room under a reduced salary cap. If those losses were spread out over a longer period, however, the free-agency market wouldn't be as severely impacted.

The NFL is facing serious economic losses if games are played this season without fans in attendance, a growing possibility given the resurgence of the coronavirus around the United States. A number of teams and cities are already discussing that possibility, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, while the New York Jets and Giants will not have fans in attendance for home games.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is also leaning toward not having fans in attendance, per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez.

But just how serious will those losses be?

Ken Belson of the New York Times estimated the hit would be "between $2 billion and $4 billion in revenue this season if fans are not on hand to buy tickets, luxury suites, food, merchandise and parking passes."

He added that the League "generates about three-quarters of its $15 billion in annual revenue from the sale of national broadcast rights, sponsorships and merchandise," meaning it should take less of an overall hit than other leagues without fans in attendance.

But a loss of revenue is coming, regardless. How that loss is absorbed remains a point of negotiating between the NFLPA and the league's owners.