Sports are slowly starting to come back into our lives but, for the time being, it seems as though most of us will have to settle for watching those sports from the comfort of our own homes. That’s because a majority of sporting events held over the coming months will be without fans in attendance.

However, the NFL has consistently stated that it’s still aiming to have fans in attendance this season as long as health and government officials allow it. The league is going to leave it up to individual teams to decide whether they want to allow fans to attend games and, if so, how many of those fans will be allowed in the stadium. Those capacities will have to adhere to local health and safety policies/protocols.

As such, there’s still a chance you’ll be able to catch your favorite football team in person later this year depending on where you live. But if you want to take your spot in the stands, you might have to sign a waiver first:

• By signing the waiver, fans would agree not to hold the NFL responsible if they were to catch COVID-19 while attending a game (forfeiting their right to sue)
• The league is also proposing that fans be required to wear masks and all stadiums be required to go cashless

From a business standpoint, you certainly understand why the NFL would want to protect themselves and make fans assume all health risks. But it also raises the question: If the league is recognizing the threat is serious enough to require fans to sign a liability waiver, should they be letting fans in the stands in the first place?

The NFL also made another change due to the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday by cutting two weeks off of the 2020 preseason schedule. Games scheduled for Week 1 and Week 4 won’t be happening, and according to our Jason La Canfora, the NFL may scrap the preseason entirely. This is all a sobering reminder that the even as we now enter the fifth month of the pandemic, so many questions about the future of sports still remain