A seventh playoff team in each conference means the postseason will start with two triple-headers on Jan. 9-10.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Is the NFL eternally optimistic or just tone-deaf?
Undeterred by the rampaging coronavirus pandemic and postponements and cancellations virtually across the board in other professional sports leagues and major sporting events, the NFL announced plans to open its season as scheduled on Sept. 10, complete two stadiums under construction, and proceed with five international games in London and Mexico.
Its only concession was to delay the announcement of the 2020 league schedule – an event unto itself – until May 9, which is about 3 ½ weeks later than usual.
The announcements came on a conference call with media after NFL owners voted to approve the expansion of the playoffs for the coming season to an additional seventh team in each conference, which will create two post-season triple-headers on wild card weekend Jan. 9-10.
Because of its fortuitous place on the sporting calendar, the NFL has been the one league least affected so far by the pandemic.
It proceeded with the onset of free agency and trades on schedule on March 16 and previously announced the draft will also be held as scheduled April 23-25, albeit in a scaled-down format.
Tuesday’s announcements by Jeff Pash, NFL legal counsel, seemed bold considering that health experts predicted deaths caused by coronavirus will spike in the coming weeks and President Donald Trump warned of a “very tough two weeks” ahead.
Nevertheless, Pash said, “All of our focus has been on a normal traditional season, starting on time, playing before fans in our regular stadiums and going through our full 16-game regular season and a full playoffs. Am I certain? I’m not certain that I’ll be here tomorrow. But I’m planning on it.”
The issues decided by the NFL after two days of conference calls with league owners were good news for sports fans longing for a return to normalcy. Whether they happen as planned is totally out of the NFL’s control, of course.
1. Expanded playoffs
This will be the first expansion of the playoffs since 1990 when each conference increased from five playoff berths to six. Adding a seventh team changes the seeding process. Only the team with the best record in each conference will get a bye. (No. 1 and No. 2 received byes in the old format.)
The remaining division winners will be seeded 2, 3 and 4 and be pitted against the three wild-card teams seeded seventh, sixth and fifth, respectively. Division winners receive home games in the wild-card round even if their record is worse than a wild-card team.
As to the possibility of a sub-.500 team making the playoffs, the league’s data showed it is remote. Since 1990, only one losing team would have qualified as a seventh seed under this format, 15 would have been 8-8 and 44 would have had winning records.
The additional two wild-card games were awarded to CBS and NBC and their streaming services.
Estimates are that the two extra games will mean $150 million in revenue to the league.
2. Schedule release
A league executive said the release of the full NFL schedule will be delayed until May 9 to give schedule-makers flexibility, pending developments in the pandemic. Unlike a year ago, the Browns are not the hottest commodity for prime-time national TV appearances; two are likely.
3. Draft plans
Teams were given general outlines of the scaled-down draft plans.
The planned extravaganza in Las Vegas has been scrapped and replaced by a draft conducted remotely, with Commissioner Roger Goodell emceeing from a different location and drafted players appearing on the TV presentation via Zoom or other technologies.
Details were sketchy. A league official said teams would use the draft to entertain fans and raise funds for people and communities affected by the pandemic.
Teams will have to conduct their drafts from remote locations outside their closed team facilities. Specific guidelines will limit draft rooms to no more than 10 people, who must keep six feet apart.
A league official confirmed that Cleveland will host the 2021 draft as scheduled, and Las Vegas could be awarded the 2022 draft to replace the one it lost.
4. Offseason programs
While team facilities remain closed and offseason programs suspended indefinitely, the league is exploring guidelines for clubs to conduct classroom sessions electronically and allow playbooks to be dispensed via electronic devices.
First-year coaches such as Kevin Stefanski were to get a two-week jumpstart on other teams on April 6, but that has been scrapped. There were no estimates on when teams might be able to practice on the field. Those sessions used to begin in early May.
5. International games
The league intends to proceed with an expanded schedule of five international games – four in London and one in Mexico City – “unless the medical community tells us differently,” said Troy Vincent, NFL head of football operations.
Jacksonville is moving two of its home games to London this year. Since the Browns are on Jacksonville’s home schedule, it’s possible the Browns can be scheduled for a game in London for the second time in four years. They played the Minnesota Vikings in London in 2017.