Report: NFL Considering Starting Season in Mid-October, No Bye Weeks in Contingency Plan

The NFL has put together a contingency plan for a schedule that has a regular season starting in mid-October, a season with no bye weeks and a Feb. 28 Super Bowl, according to the Sports Business Journal's John Ourand and Ben Fischer.

The official schedule is expected to be released next month. The contingency plan would depend on how much the coronavirus pandemic is under control. Scheduling plans have not been finalized yet.

Commissioner Roger Goodell told Good Morning America that the league will be ready to "make alternatives" if needed.

Super Bowl LV is currently scheduled for Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. The Sports Business Journal says the last two weeks of February remain under consideration for a possible delay of the Super Bowl.

Government officials like California Gov. Gavin Newsom have said that the coronavirus could halt plans for sporting events and concerts through 2021. On April 14, he said, "large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens-of-thousands of strangers all together across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise is not in the cards based on our current guidelines and current expectations."