he NFL draft will be conducted in a virtual format, with team
personnel working from their homes.
In a memo sent to the 32 teams Monday and obtained by The
Associated Press, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell outlined
procedures for the April 23-25 draft. The guidelines include no
group gatherings.
“We have reviewed this matter in the past few days with both the
competition committee and CEC (a group of league executives),”
Goodell wrote, “and this will confirm that clubs will conduct their
draft operations remotely, with club personnel separately located
in their homes.”
All team facilities were closed on March 26 and Goodell has ordered
them to remain shut indefinitely.
“We will reopen facilities when it is safe to do so based on
medical and public health advice, and in compliance with government
mandates,” he wrote.
The draft originally was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, but the
NFL canceled all public events last month as a safeguard against
the coronavirus. On Monday, Goodell instructed the teams on how
they should plan to make their selections.
“We have made this decision for several reasons,” he wrote. “All
clubs will not have access to their facilities, which is contrary
to the fundamental equity principle that all clubs operate in a
consistent and fair way.
“Moreover, we want all NFL personnel to comply with government
directives and to model safe and appropriate health practices. Our
staff will carry out its responsibilities in the same way,
operating in separate locations outside of our offices. And after
consulting with medical advisers, 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.”
Several team general managers had sought a delay in the draft,
basically citing an unfair playing field. But the owners pushed for
the draft, the NFL’s biggest offseason event, to take place as
scheduled. It is up to each team to ensure not only safe and
healthy conditions, but to offset any perceived competitive
imbalance under the guidelines set forth by Goodell.
“We are operating in an environment unlike anything we have
experienced before,” Goodell added, “one that requires flexibility,
patience, and cooperation.”
Plans for televising the draft have not been finalized, though it
is expected that ESPN and NFL Network will do so, perhaps in a
joint effort.
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More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP-NFL
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