The NFL is not requiring players to get the COVID-19 vaccine this season, but life will certainly be difficult for those who don’t. It could also be quite costly.
As Mark Maske of the Washington Post notes, the NFL and NFL Players Association have agreed that players who are not vaccinated can be fined for a variety of reasons during training camp and the preseason. Unvaccinated players will be fined $14,650 for violations including going to bars or nightclubs indoors or attending an indoor concert.
Such violations include gathering outside team facility; having in-person meetings or practices outside team facilities; attending an indoor nightclub or bar; having a house gathering of more than 15 people without masks; attending an indoor concert or entertainment event. https://t.co/jCpFqKpaG6
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) June 17, 2021
Players can also be fined $50,000 for a number of reasons, including failure to cooperate with an investigation into a potential protocol violation.
Potential $50,000 fines under NFL/NFLPA protocols: any player failing to cooperate with an investigation into protocol violations; a non-vaccinated player gathering with other players or staffers during a team covid shutdown; a non-vaccinated player refusing to submit to testing.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) June 17, 2021
You can see how there will be a lot of pressure on players to get the vaccine — even those who are not comfortable with it. One star player spoke out this week about the NFLPA agreeing to the restrictions on unvaccinated players.
