The NFL’s updated Covid-19 policy about vaccines for teams and players, outlined in a league-wide memo from Commissioner Roger Goodell, is the right call.
By Arthur L. Caplan & Lee H. Igel The NFL wants its teams to play a full slate of games in the 2021 season. One way to do that is by making sure as many players as possible get their doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. To help in that effort, the league is going long on a new policy that could put a crimp on teams’ chances for success on the field if players don’t vaccinate. Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, the league implemented a coronavirus health and safety policy that allowed a season to be played all the way through Super Bowl LV. Schedules were crammed to fit postponements. Teams played with weakened lineups—in one case, the Denver Broncos took the field with no quarterbacks at all. The league relied on education and persuasion to get vaccines into arms. Not this season. If someone goes unvaccinated and causes an outbreak, there will be financial hell to pay. In a recent memo sent by Commissioner Roger Goodell to all of its clubs, the NFL announced that any game cancelled because of a coronavirus outbreak among a team’s unvaccinated players will result in a forfeit. That will count as a loss in the team’s record. In addition, players from both teams will not be receiving their weekly paychecks for missing the game.
