Patriots’ Kraft auctions ring for charity
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced Sunday that he is putting up his Super Bowl LI ring for charity to support the All-In Challenge, an effort hoping to raise tens of millions of dollars to help feed those in need.
The auction opened at $75,000 after his announcement and received an initial bid. The winner will also win a chance to meet Kraft at Gillette Stadium and be flown in for the meeting on the team’s private plane if outside of driving distance.
Super Bowl LI saw the Patriots rally from a 28-3 deficit on February 5, 2017 to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28 in OT.
“And I thought about what is going on at this time, and wanted to give something of extreme value in support of our health-care workers,”
Kraft said in a video posted on social media. “So I thought it would be good to give this ring, our fifth Super Bowl win, because it showed how we came back.”
The All-In Challenge, created by Fanatics founder and Kraft friend Michael Rubin, claims to be the largest digital fund-raiser in history. The challenge claimed to have raised $38 million as of early Sunday evening.
“I want to give this ring to someone who will worthy enough to bid it up, so we can get meals to all these people who are hurting badly at this time,” Kraft said.
The auction will last 11 days.
Bundesliga could provide blueprint for NFL
Meanwhile, the National Football League has time on its side as the sports world prepares to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and will use some it to observe German soccer’s Bundesliga as a potential blueprint on how to deal with the outbreak.
The NFL, which is due to kick off on September 10 and has not yet seen its schedule affected by the novel coronavirus, is paying close attention to protocols other leagues, particularly the Bundesliga, are putting in place in a bid to restart play, according to a report in Newsday.
The top-flight Bundesliga season will restart on May 16, making it the first European league to resume amid the pandemic that has infected more than 3.95 million people globally and killed more than 270,000.
“We’ve been in contact with all domestic leagues, but also sports organizations around the world,” Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s vice president of communications, told Newsday.
“We have a number of protocols, see what works, see what can translate into our sport.
“We’re all in the sports business, but every sport has its own matters to attend to.”
Germany’s top flight will resume under strict health protocols, with no fans allowed in stadiums.
All teams have had to go into a seven-day training camp in complete isolation with players tested before their inclusion in the camps to reduce the risk of any infection.
About 300 people, including players, staff and officials, will be in and around the stadiums during matchdays.
The NFL unveiled its 2020 schedule on Thursday with the expectation of playing games with fans in the stadiums but is approaching the season with some caution.
League commissioner Roger Goodell has informed teams they will be required to have a ticket refund policy in place for canceled or disrupted games.
McCarthy told Newsday: “We’re looking at what we can adopt, what we can modify that is working in other sports, sharing best practices.” (Reuters)