LA Rams News: Doubts about 2020 NFL season spreading

LA Rams News: Doubts about how the NFL will pull off the 2020 NFL season are beginning to spread

The LA Rams continue to move ahead in the expectation that the 2020 NFL season will take place in some shape or form. There’s nothing special about that, as all 32 teams are acting in a similar fashion.  The NFL, like any sports or entertainment industry, is about filling the stands with fans. Whether the stands are in the stadium, in sports bars, or the comfort of homes, the economic model is pretty simple: a small revenue stream from admission. A greater revenue stream from merchandising.  And finally, more revenue still from media broadcast rights.

But the NFL season is not a sure thing, nor is anyone certain of how it will all play out. And it’s that uncertainty that is filling everyone with doubts, fears, apprehensions, and anxiety

We have discussed the uncertainties facing the NFL in this unique and unusual season. From the moment center, Brian Allen reported as the first NFL player to contract the coronavirus, we have kept NFL responses to the threat of a limited or even no season in the corner of our eye.  It was the risk of spreading the disease which prompted the NFLPA to discourage players from practicing together. The “what if” scenario of the NFL playing games in empty stadiums has prompted Forbes magazine to estimate what the financial impact to the league, and to individual teams, might turn out to be.

The NFL has even held discussions about expanding the roster to give teams better options should the team be impacted by COVID-19. In the end, there are only so many contingency plans available to the Rams.  Necessity is the mother of invention.