NFL plans for ‘fully virtual’ draft

The National Football League is planning for a “fully virtual” draft amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Monday memo from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to the 32 teams. 

Goodell confirmed that the 2020 Draft scheduled for later this month will be held virtually, with club personnel “separately located in their homes” to ensure a fair draft and to follow the government stay-at-home orders. 

“Because of these circumstances, Clubs have been advised to prepare to conduct the 2020 Draft entirely outside of their facilities and in a fully virtual format, with club personnel in separate locations and able to communicate with one another and Draft headquarters by phone or internet,” Goodell said in the memo obtained by an ESPN reporter. 

Now official: NFL now has informed teams it will do a virtual draft this year. GMs and HCs now will be drafting from their homes. pic.twitter.com/t2mbdjWvVZ

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 6, 2020

The commissioner said the decision was reviewed “in the past few days” because all clubs will not have access to their facilities and to “model safe and appropriate health practices.”

“And after consulting with medical advisors, we cannot identify an alternative that is preferable from a medical or public health perspective, given the varying needs of clubs, the need properly to screen participants, and the unique risk factors that individual club employees may face,” he wrote. 

Goodell said many clubs have been preparing for a virtual April 23-25 draft, and he is “confident” all teams will be able to make the draft “a successful event.”

League officials had previously discussed the possibility of permitting small groups of club personnel to work in-person together but ended up ruling it out. The draft was supposed to happen in Las Vegas, but the NFL has canceled all its public events during the outbreak, ESPN reported. 

Goodell also said the teams’ facilities closed since March 26 will remain shut down indefinitely, until “it is safe” to reopen. 

The world of sports has shut down during the coronavirus outbreak, including March Madness being canceled and Major League Baseball postponing the start of its season.