The COVID-19 pandemic has taken away a lot of things, one of them being sports. The NBA and NHL seasons have been on a hiatus for 2 months and the MLB has been forced to delay their season. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the future of sports and when they will resume. One sport facing a lot of questions right now is football. There’s a lot of unknowns surrounding what will happen come late August when football seasons around the country are ramping up. Will there be a difference based on the level at which you’re playing? Let’s take a closer look.

    I think the easiest to predict is what will happen with the NFL. As opposed to college and high school football, there is not a higher power that dictates whether football is played or not. It is all up to the league itself. If they are able to play, they will play. Most of the revenue generated from NFL games comes from TV deals, so it’s not a huge deal if fans can not attend. At worst, I see NFL games being played in empty stadiums to start, but NFL stadiums will be full of screaming fans towards the end of the season.

    High school football is pretty cut and dry, in terms of what I think will happen to their season. I believe that it all depends on if high schools are in session when the new school year begins. If schools are operating like they were before this pandemic, I think football games will happen without a problem. If schools are still closed, then I don’t think football games will take place. I don’t think there will be any games without fans, that’s just not reasonable. High school football really lays in the hands of those who determine whether high schools will be in session or not.

    College football is in a very precarious situation. The majority of income for college athletic departments stem from college football. So, the college football season almost needs to take place for these athletic departments to succeed. Attendance is a major part of this income. Financially, it is not feasible to have college football games without fans. The only obstacle is whether colleges will resume with normal activity come August. If they’re not, that greatly complicates things. Honestly, I have no clue what is going to happen with college football. There are a lot of variables that go into whatever decisions are made and I can’t determine what I think will take place. 

Football season is in jeopardy, whether you realize it or not. Football is a massive money maker and arguably the most popular sport in the United States. Hopefully, the COVID-19 pandemic goes away soon and we can all enjoy the game of football that we all know and love.