The NFL's new vaccine guidance could have 'massive implications'

The NFL on Thursday warned teams they could face serious penalties this season for COVID-19 outbreaks among unvaccinated players.

In a memo obtained by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the league states "if a game cannot be rescheduled during the 18-week schedule due to a COVID-19 outbreak among unvaccinated players, the team with the outbreak will forfeit and be credited with a loss," writes NFL.com. The other team will be credited with a win. Pelissero wrote that the new policy has "massive implications."

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The team responsible for the canceled game "will be responsible for financial losses and subject to potential discipline from the commissioner," per Pelissero. "We do not anticipate adding a '19th week' to accommodate games that cannot be rescheduled within the current 18 weeks of the regular season," the memo states.

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Furthermore, if a game canceled due to COVID-19 cannot be rescheduled, neither team's players will get paid. However, "if a club cannot play due to a COVID spike in vaccinated individuals," the NFL will "attempt to minimize the competitive and economic burden on both participating teams," per the memo.

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To some, the new guidance is effectively a vaccine mandate, even though the league hasn't technically mandated anything — they've just placed the burden of COVID outbreaks among unvaccinated players on individual teams. Players and pundits discussed the implications of the reported news on Twitter:

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As of Thursday, "more than 75 percent of NFL players were at least partially vaccinated and more than half of the league's teams have player vaccination rates above 80 percent," reports ESPN.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid is a staff writer at The Week and a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Her passions include improv comedy, David Fincher films, and breakfast food. She lives in New York.