Report: NFL proposal allows for opt outs by August 1

While the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association continue to negotiate the terms for the upcoming season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the prospect of if and how players will be able to opt out of playing the upcoming year has remained one of the outstanding questions in need of an answer.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the current proposal offered by the league allows for any player to choose to opt out with written notice by August 1.

Rookies are scheduled to begin to arrive for training camps as early as Monday with most veteran players set to arrive closer to the end of the month. Any player that wants to scope out what their team’s procedures and protocols will be like in person wouldn’t have all that much time to figure out whether they feel comfortable proceeding or not before the August 1 deadline.

The ability to choose not to play due to virus concerns isn’t the only hurdle the two sides need navigate before progressing with the 2020 season. Even without an agreement in place, the Chiefs and Texans have told their rookies to arrive on Monday.

The August 1 date remains just part of the latest proposal and isn’t set in stone. The NFL had its CBA in place in March and had the four months since to figure out the protocols for the upcoming season. On the eve of camps beginning, those plans still aren’t in place which has been frustrating for players such as Patrick Mahomes.