If fans are allowed to attend NFL games this year, they’ll be required to wear masks

The NFL has said the issue of whether fans will be permitted to attend games during the upcoming 2020 regular season will be made city by city, based on local guidelines and restrictions. Some teams already have said that no fans will be allowed, at least at the outset of the season. Other teams have announced reduced seating capacities if fans are permitted to attend at all.

It has been expected that any fans allowed into NFL stadiums this season, under local guidelines, will be subject to potential measures such as mandatory masks, temperature checks, symptom screening, social-distancing requirements like checkerboard seating patterns and contactless concessions. Wednesday’s social media announcement confirms the mask-wearing as a leaguewide requirement.

The league also has said that the rows of seating in each stadium closest to the field will be closed, unless full stadiums are allowed. Those seats will be covered and could be used to display sponsor logos and team or league messaging.

Rookies have begun reporting this week to some teams’ training camps under health protocols developed by the league and the NFL Players Association. The NFL and players’ union agreed to a testing plan by which players will be tested daily for at least the first two weeks of training camps; the testing frequency can be reduced to every other day thereafter, depending upon the rate of positive tests. The league agreed to eliminate preseason games, as the NFLPA had sought.

The NFL’s regular season is scheduled to begin Sept. 10.