The NFL plans to release a normal schedule in ten days, but has several contingency plans in place should the season need to be delayed.
Sports Business Journal reported Monday that the NFL plans to release a “standard, 16-game, 17 week” regular season schedule on May 7, but that it will be designed to accommodate possible pandemic-related delays.
Per the report, the league could shift two early weeks to the end of the season a la 2001, when the 9/11-delayed Week 2 was pushed to January and became Week 17. It could also drop the week between the conference championship games and Super Bowl, push the Super Bowl back to as late as the end of February, and cut every team’s bye week.
With those plans in place, the NFL season could begin as late as October 15 without any games being cut.
The league’s priority, per SBJ, is a full regular season and a Super Bowl that is played in February.
No NFL season has been shortened for any reason since 1987, when a players strike resulted in a reduction from 16 to 15 games. Only once has the Super Bowl ever been delayed — in the previously mentioned 2001 season, when it was pushed back a week due to the 9/11 attacks.
[News from SBJ 4.27]
