Report: NFL could ask fans to sign coronavirus liability waiver to attend games

If fans are allowed to attend NFL games this season, there will obviously be some risk of them contracting the coronavirus while inside the stadium. They may even have to acknowledge that risk before they are allowed entry.

NFL teams are considering a proposal this week that would call for fans to sign a COVID-19 liability waiver before entering stadiums, according to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. The waiver would likely be signed electronically, but would it actually shield NFL teams from liability if a fan contracted the coronavirus? Bob Hilliard, a plaintiff’s attorney who has sued MLB on behalf of fans hit by foul balls, has his doubts. Hilliard described waivers as “fragile.”

“Especially, as I assume here, when you are asking fans to waive their rights even if the NFL is negligen(t), grossly negligent, etc. Comes down to proportionate power — and the NFL has a high hurdle to claim that a fan has an actual choice,” Hilliard wrote in an email to The Athletic.

“Let’s say a fan and his family go to a game. The team/NFL allows, by poor processes, that fan and his family to be exposed to (COVID-19) and everyone dies. The waiver defense will either be a question of law for the judge, or a question of fact for the jury, depending on the jurisdiction and the particular facts. I’d take the case.”

The waiver is one of many considerations that are being taken by teams as they try to outline health and safety practices for possibly hosting fans at games. It is expected that fans will be required to wear masks, and the league is considering making masks mandatory even in areas of the country where there is no local mandate in place.

This isn’t the first we have heard of a coronavirus waiver in relation to sports resuming. Similar waivers could become more common as leagues resume play.