After the most tumultuous weekend the NFL has faced with COVID-19 complications which included two postponed games, the NFL put out a warning to all its teams Monday afternoon. The Steelers' scheduled week four matchup with the Titans was set for 1 p.m. Oct. 4 at Nissan Stadium was rescheduled to 1 p.m. Oct. 25. The Chiefs and Patriots' scheduled matchup for Sunday was postponed to Monday.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent out a memorandum on Monday to all league owners, presidents, general managers, head coaches and infection control officers, as first reported by Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal:
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: teams will be docked draft picks or even forced to forfeit games if the league discovers COVID protocol violations that postpone or cancel games, or otherwise impact other teams.
— Ben Fischer (@BenFischerSBJ) October 5, 2020
Here's the full memo: pic.twitter.com/FAEf3gI0X2
The memorandum began by reminding all parties of the stringent protocols put in place by the NFL to keep players safe and best prevent and contain COVID-19 outbreaks. But the most important part of the memorandum came when Goodell indicated there had been violations of the protocols and the punishments that could follow.
"There have been breaches to the protocols and individual players, staff and clubs have been disciplined as a result," the memorandum read. "We will not only conduct reviews in cases of multiple positive at one club, but the league and union will continue to conduct inspections of club facilities to ensure protocol compliance. If it is determined that club personnel or players failed to have followed the protocols, discipline will be issued and will escalate where noncompliance continues."
The potential punishments, for the first time publicly, mentioned the possibility of forced forfeits on teams in violation of NFL protocols in the memorandum.
"Protocol violations that result in virus spread requiring adjustments to the schedule or otherwise impacting other teams will result in additional financial and competitive discipline, including the adjustment or loss of draft choices or even the forfeit of a game. Simply put, compliance is mandatory. Now is the time to recommit ourselves to our protocols and best practices for the duration of the season."
The Titans are currently under investigation by the NFL for protocol violations after twelve players had been placed on the team's reserve/COVID-19 list:
More on the NFL and NFLPA’s investigation of whether the Titans violated COVID-19 protocols:https://t.co/g7oLFDE0mD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 4, 2020
Dejan Kovacevic wrote last Thursday about the urgent need for forfeited games as a possible punishment to teams found in violation of the NFL's COVID-19 protocols. You can read all of that here.