Team has yet to see any players opt out of the 2020 season
To play or not to play? It’s the question that many NFL players have considered with training camps across the league beginning this week with coronavirus precautions in place.
More than two dozen NFL players have decided to opt out of the 2020 season before the Aug. 4 deadline. No Miami Dolphins player or coach has opted out yet, coach Brian Flores said on Wednesday.
Some players with pre-existing health conditions could earn $350,000 and an accrued season by stepping away, while others who opt out voluntary could earn $150,000 with no accrued season.
And many others will decide that the amount of money they could earn by making an NFL roster — and potentially playing in a full season — outweighs the COVID-19 risks they must endure to earn more money than the opt-out payout.
“That’s the thing about it: this is our livelihood,” Dolphins safety Steven Parker said. “To me, you always have a choice. But it’s really what kind of choice and what kind of sacrifice you’re willing to make.”
Eagles wideout Marquise Goodwin shared a video alongside his wife of their five-month daughter as the reason he is opting out this season. The couple has already lost experienced the deaths of three children. Their premature son died in 2017, and he and his wife lost their unborn twins in 2018.
Packers receiver Devin Funchess shared on Instagram he has opted out because his “closest family members have experienced the life-threatening impact of COVID-19 firsthand.”
Starting Chiefs right guard Laurent DuvernayTardif, the NFL’s only player will a medical degree, opted out so he can treat COVID-19 patients in the Montreal area, while the Patriots have seen six players including starters like defensive back Patrick Chung, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and offensive tackle Marcus Cannon opt out for various reasons.
“I know we’ve had guys opt out throughout the league. Those are tough decisions to make,” said Flores, a former Patriots assistant entering his second season as the Dolphins head coach. “Fortunately, we haven’t had anyone opt out thus far. There’s some time for that.”
A glance at the Dolphins’ roster makeup could give some inclination:
Look at a player like Ryan Fitzpatrick. He is 37 years old, heading into his 16th NFL season. He’s the only player on the Dolphins roster older than 30. He could make $8 million this season, with $4 million of that guaranteed.
He and his wife Liza have seven children, but they did not move with Fitzpatrick to South Florida, staying in Arizona where they spent much of the offseason living next door to his brother’s family.
He’ll have the opportunity to compete for one of the 32 starting quarterback jobs in the NFL again this season, while serving as bridge to the next Dolphins starter, either Josh Rosen or Tua Tagovailoa.
And if Fitzpatrick were to opt out, it could likely be the end of his NFL career unless he decided to try to play in 2021.
“I think retirement is going to be a lot more difficult than playing football,” Fitzpatrick joked last December.
Eighteen other Dolphins players will enter their fifth, sixth or seventh NFL seasons, typically on a second NFL contract.
New cornerback Byron Jones signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal this offseason, which includes $46 million of guaranteed salary. Jones will earn $15.5 million if the Dolphins are able to play every game this season.
The Dolphins also have 11 rookie draft picks, 10 undrafted rookies, and 44 players within their first four years of the league, who are typically on rookie contracts looking to start their careers and livelihoods in the NFL.
Tagovailoa, the team’s No. 1 pick in April, signed a fiveyear, $30 million rookie deal, which includes a $19.5 million signing bonus he already received.
But many Dolphins players in that respective age group stand to earn salaries of $610,000, $675,000, $750,000, or $825,000, while others are in the $1-4 million range.
Opting out, for either $150,000 or $350,000, may not be feasible solely from a financial standpoint for the Dolphins players or others in the NFL.
David Canter, a South Florida based NFL agent, hopes players consider the opt-out language that will appear when the league and its players’ association finalize the side letter to the collective bargaining agreement while factoring a decision.
The side letter will specify the nature of the opt out, and potentially determine how and when the $150,000 and $350,000 stipends will be disbursed to players. Those factors have not yet been decided.
“I think any player that’s opting out should be factoring the health concerns over anything else,” Canter said.
“What I’m advising guys is to go into the building, see the protocols, go through the testing, see how you feel, see if you feel safe, see if you feel secure, and then go from there.”
Since April, the Dolphins organization has worked to create a safer environment for players by creating another locker room and weight room areas, and added Plexiglass between lockers to encourage social distancing.
Mask wearing, using hand sanitizer and policing oneself in and out of the team’s Davie facility have also been emphasized within the
“One person can bring in the virus and it can spread like wildfire. I think we all understand that,” Flores said. “So each one of us has a responsibility. If you enter the facility, you have a responsibility to the 150, 180 or 200 other people in the facility. We need to be smart and make good decisions. I think our guys understand that.
“Look, you can [also] be smart and make all good decisions and it still might not work out, because that’s just kind of how this is,” Flores added. “But I think we’d all have peace of mind knowing that we’ve done everything possible that we can do individually.”
Still, the players must wrestle between their health, safety, family and money in a matter of days between the start of training camp and the Aug. 4 deadline to decide if they want to play or opt out of the 2020 season.
“Each man is his own person. Each guy has his own types of fears and concerns,” Dolphins linebacker Vince Biegel said.
“I know baseball and the NBA have guaranteed money, and I know that’s not the case in the NFL. We’re advised to report [this week], and we’ll continue to work through it. I’m optimistic that things will get rolling, and I’m excited to get back.”
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