Free agency

Free agency began on March 18. Notable players to change teams included:

• Quarterbacks Tom Brady (New England to Tampa Bay), Teddy Bridgewater (New Orleans to Carolina), Andy Dalton (Cincinnati to Dallas), Cam Newton (Carolina to New England), Philip Rivers (Los Angeles Chargers to Indianapolis), and Jameis Winston (Tampa Bay to New Orleans)
• Running backs Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville to Tampa Bay), Melvin Gordon (Los Angeles Chargers to Denver), Frank Gore (Buffalo to New York Jets), Todd Gurley (Los Angeles Rams to Atlanta), Jordan Howard (Philadelphia to Miami), Dion Lewis (Tennessee to New York Giants), and Adrian Peterson (Washington to Detroit)
• Wide receivers Nelson Agholor (Philadelphia to Las Vegas), Robby Anderson (New York Jets to Carolina), Antonio Brown (New England to Tampa Bay), Dez Bryant (New Orleans to Baltimore), Randall Cobb (Dallas to Houston), Phillip Dorsett (New England to Seattle), Ted Ginn Jr. (New Orleans to Chicago), and Emmanuel Sanders (San Francisco to New Orleans)
• Tight ends Eric Ebron (Indianapolis to Pittsburgh), Tyler Eifert (Cincinnati to Jacksonville), Jimmy Graham (Green Bay to Chicago), Austin Hooper (Atlanta to Cleveland), Jordan Reed (Washington to San Francisco), and Jason Witten (Dallas to Las Vegas)
• Offensive linemen Bryan Bulaga (Green Bay to Los Angeles Chargers), Jack Conklin (Tennessee to Cleveland), Ereck Flowers (Washington to Miami), Graham Glasgow (Detroit to Denver), and Halapoulivaati Vaitai (Philadelphia to Detroit).
• Defensive linemen Adrian Clayborn (Atlanta to Cleveland), Jadeveon Clowney (Seattle to Tennessee), Everson Griffen (Minnesota to Dallas), Linval Joseph (Minnesota to Los Angeles Chargers), Gerald McCoy (Carolina to Dallas), Emmanuel Ogbah (Kansas City to Miami), Dontari Poe (Carolina to Dallas), Robert Quinn (Dallas to Chicago), and Danny Shelton (New England to Detroit), Derek Wolfe (Denver to Baltimore)
• Linebackers Vic Beasley (Atlanta to Tennessee), Jamie Collins (New England to Detroit), Leonard Floyd (Chicago to Los Angeles Rams), Dante Fowler (Los Angeles Rams to Atlanta), Bruce Irvin (Carolina to Seattle), A. J. Klein (New Orleans to Buffalo), Nick Kwiatkoski (Chicago to Las Vegas), Cory Littleton (Los Angeles Rams to Las Vegas), Blake Martinez (Green Bay to New York Giants), Joe Schobert (Cleveland to Jacksonville), Kyle Van Noy (New England to Miami), and Nick Vigil (Cincinnati to Los Angeles Chargers)
• Defensive backs Vonn Bell (New Orleans to Cincinnati), James Bradberry (Carolina to New York Giants), Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Chicago to Dallas), Ronald Darby (Philadelphia to Washington), Kendall Fuller (Kansas City to Washington), Chris Harris Jr. (Denver to Los Angeles Chargers), Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia to New Orleans), Byron Jones (Dallas to Miami), Karl Joseph (Oakland to Cleveland), Xavier Rhodes (Minnesota to Indianapolis), Andrew Sendejo (Minnesota to Cleveland), and Desmond Trufant (Atlanta to Detroit)
• Kickers Stephen Gostkowski (New England to Tennessee) and Greg Zuerlein (Los Angeles Rams to Dallas)

Trades

The following notable trades were made during the 2020 league year:

• March 16: Baltimore traded TE Hayden Hurst and a 2020 fourth-round selection to Atlanta for 2020 second and fifth-round selections.^[12]
• March 18: Houston traded WR DeAndre Hopkins and a 2020 fourth-round selection to Arizona for RB David Johnson, a 2020 second-round selection, and a 2021 fourth-round selection.^[13]
• March 18: Jacksonville traded DE Calais Campbell to Baltimore for a 2020 fifth-round selection.^[14]
• March 18: Minnesota traded WR Stefon Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round selection to Buffalo for 2020 first, fifth, and sixth round selection and a 2021 fourth-round selection.^[15]
• March 18: Tennessee traded DE Jurrell Casey to Denver for a 2020 seventh-round selection.^[16]
• March 18: San Francisco traded DT DeForest Buckner to Indianapolis for a 2020 first-round selection.^[17]
• March 18: Jacksonville traded QB Nick Foles to Chicago for a 2020 fourth-round selection.^[18]
• March 18: Carolina traded G Trai Turner to the Los Angeles Chargers for T Russell Okung.^[19]
• March 18: Jacksonville traded CB A. J. Bouye to Denver for a 2020 fourth-round selection.^[20]
• March 19: Detroit traded CB Darius Slay to Philadelphia for a 2020 third-round selection and 2020 a fifth-round selection.^[21]
• April 9: The Los Angeles Rams traded WR Brandin Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round selection to Houston for a 2020 second-round selection.^[22]
• April 21: New England traded TE Rob Gronkowski and a 2020 seventh-round selection to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round selection.^[23]
• April 25: Washington traded OT Trent Williams to San Francisco for a 2020 fifth-round selection and a 2021 third-round selection.^[24]
• July 25: The New York Jets traded S Jamal Adams and a 2022 fourth-round selection to Seattle for S Bradley McDougald, 2021 and 2022 first-round selections, and a 2021 third-round selection.^[25]
• August 30: Jacksonville traded DE Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota for a 2021 second-round selection and a conditional 2021 fifth-round selection.^[26]
• September 4: Cincinnati traded LB Austin Calitro to Denver for DT Christian Covington.^[27]
• September 5: Las Vegas traded WR Lynn Bowden and a conditional 2021 sixth-round selection to Miami for a 2021 fourth-round selection.^[28]
• October 22: Minnesota traded DE Yannick Ngakoue to Baltimore for a 2021 third-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection.^[29]
• October 29: Cincinnati traded DE Carlos Dunlap to Seattle for C B. J. Finney and a 2021 seventh-round selection.^[30]
• November 3: San Francisco traded LB Kwon Alexander to New Orleans for LB Kiko Alonso and a conditional 2021 fifth-round selection.^[31]

Notable retirements

The following notable players retired prior to the 2020 season:

• C Travis Frederick – Five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro (one first-team, two-second-team). Played for Dallas during his entire seven-year career.^[32]
• TE Antonio Gates – Eight-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro (three first-team, two-second-team). Played for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers during his entire 16-year career.^[33]
• LB Luke Kuechly – Seven-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro (five first-team, two-second-team), 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year, and 2013 Defensive Player of the Year. Played for Carolina during his entire eight-year career.^[34]
• QB Eli Manning – Four-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP (XLII and XLVI), first overall selection in the 2004 NFL Draft, and 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Played for the New York Giants during his entire 16-year career.^[35]
• OT Joe Staley – Six-time Pro Bowler and three-time second-team All-Pro. Played for San Francisco during his entire 13-year career.^[36]
• CB Aqib Talib – Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro (one first-team, one second-team), and Super Bowl 50 champion. Played for Tampa Bay, New England, Denver, and the Los Angeles Rams during his 12-year career.^[37]
• FS Eric Weddle – Six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro (two first-team, three-second-team). Played for the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore, and the Los Angeles Rams during his 13-year career.^[38] Weddle later came out of retirement in 2021 to rejoin the Rams.^[39]
• G Marshal Yanda – Eight-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro (two first-team, five second-team), and Super Bowl XLVII champion. Played for Baltimore during his entire 13-year career.^[40]

Other retirements

Draft

The Draft took place on April 23–25, via videoconferencing; it was originally scheduled to take place in Paradise, Nevada, but was moved due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[69] On April 5, the NFL announced that the draft would be held virtually with coaches and GMs conducting it via phone and internet from home due to team facilities also being closed.^[70] Goodell unveiled the first-round picks from his home in Bronxville, New York.^[71][72] Cincinnati, by virtue of having the worst record in 2019, held the first overall selection and selected QB Joe Burrow out of LSU.^[73]

Opt-outs

The NFL and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) agreed on July 24 to allow players to opt out of playing the season; 66 players opted out by the August 6 deadline. Players who opted out were not paid for the 2020 season, but received a salary advance of $150,000 taken from their 2021 salary. Players who opted out due to medical conditions received a $350,000 stipend which was not taken from their 2021 salary.^[9] The following is a list of all players who opted out:^[74]

Permanent changes

The following rule changes for the 2020 season were approved at the NFL Owners' Meeting in May:^[80]

• Extend defenseless player protection to a punt/kick returner who possesses the ball but has not had time to avoid or ward off impending contact with an opponent.
• Make permanent the expansion of automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any successful or unsuccessful try attempt.
• Prevent teams from committing multiple dead-ball fouls in the fourth quarter or in overtime while the clock is running in an attempt to manipulate the game clock. The clock now starts on the snap following a dead-ball foul. This has been referred to as the "Bill Belichick Rule"^[81] for his use of this tactic.
• Teams may bring three players back from injured reserve after missing eight games, up from two players.
• The temporary rule change for 2019 allowing for the review of pass interference was not renewed.
• In November, the league passed 2020 Resolution JC-2A, which rewards teams for developing minority candidates for head coach and GM positions.^[82] The resolution rewards teams whose minority candidates are hired away for one of those positions with a third-round pick in each of the next two drafts. These picks are at the end of the third round, after standard compensatory picks, and are in addition to the 32 compensatory picks already awarded.

Temporary rules for 2020 season

The following temporary rule changes were made on September 9 and were only in place for 2020:^[83] The rule changes involving injured reserve and practice squad transactions remained in place for 2021.^[84]

• A player on injured reserve could return after missing three games, down from eight.
• Teams could return an unlimited number of players from injured reserve throughout the year, instead of the normal limit of three.
• Practice squads included up to 16 players for each team, up from 12.
• After 4:00 p.m. ET on the Tuesday of a game week, a team could designate up to four practice squad players as "protected", meaning they are not allowed to sign with another team until after their current team plays its next game.
• The NFL instituted a reserve/COVID-19 list for players who either test positive for COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who has it. There was no minimum amount of time a player must remain on this list, only until he was medically cleared to play.
• The NFL administered COVID-19 tests to all players and other essential employees every day of the regular season and postseason except game days.
• Any player who was on a team's Week 1 roster earned an accrued season toward free agency as long as he was on full-pay status for at least one regular-season game, down from the normal minimum of six.

• Every person at field level had to wear a face covering except players actively involved in the game or warming up on the sideline and referees while making announcements.^[85]
• On October 9, the league announced that coaches who approach officials with their faces uncovered could be penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.^[85]

Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Herb Adderley

Adderley, a cornerback, spent 12 years in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1972. He was inducted into the Hall in 1980 and died on October 30, age 81.^[86]

Willie Davis

Davis, a defensive end, spent 12 years in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers from 1958 to 1969. He also served as a color commentator for NBC in the early 1970s and was inducted into the Hall in 1981. He also started All-Pro Broadcasting, which owns several stations in Los Angeles and Milwaukee. Davis died on April 15, age 85.^[87]

Fred Dean

Dean, a defensive end, spent 11 years with the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers from 1975 to 1985. He was inducted into the Hall in 2008 and died on October 14, age 68.^[88]

Chris Doleman

Doleman, a defensive end, spent 15 years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers. He was inducted into the Hall in 2012 and died January 28, age 58.^[89]

Kevin Greene

Greene, a linebacker, played 15 years in the NFL, spending time with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers. He was inducted into the Hall in 2016 and died December 21, age 58.^[90]

Paul Hornung

Hornung, a running back and placekicker, played ten seasons with the Green Bay Packers, and was an inaugural member of the New Orleans Saints roster but never played due to injury. He was inducted into the Hall in 1986 and died November 13, age 84.^[91]

Bobby Mitchell

Mitchell, a halfback, spent 11 years in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins; he was the first black player on Washington's roster, ending owner George Preston Marshall's 30-year color barrier on the team. He served as an executive with the Redskins for decades after his playing career ended and was inducted into the Hall in 1983. Mitchell died on April 5, age 84.^[92]

Ken Riley

Riley, a cornerback, spent his entire 15-year career with the Cincinnati Bengals, was posthumously inducted in 2023. He died June 7, aged 72.^[93]

Gale Sayers

Sayers, a running back, spent his entire seven-year career with the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into the Hall in 1977 at the age of 34, the youngest player ever inducted. He died September 23, age 77.^[94]

Don Shula

Shula was head coach of the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins for a combined 33 years; he holds the record for both the most regular-season wins by a head coach in NFL history (328) and the most total wins including the playoffs (347). Shula was inducted into the Hall in 1997. He died May 4, age 90.^[95]

Willie Wood

Wood, a safety who spent his entire 12-year career with the Green Bay Packers, was inducted into the Hall in 1989. He died February 3, age 83.^[96]

Larry Wilson

Wilson spent 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the St. Louis, Phoenix and Arizona Cardinals, between 1960 and 2002: 13 as a player in which he appeared in eight Pro Bowls as a free safety, and 30 as a front office executive. Wilson, a member of the Hall's class of 1978, died September 17, age 82.^[97]

Others

Scheduling formula

Under the NFL scheduling formula, each team played the other three teams in its own division twice. In addition, a team played against all four teams in one division from each conference. The remaining two games on a team's schedule were against the two remaining teams in the same conference that finished in the same position in their respective divisions the previous season (e.g., the team that finished fourth in its division will play all three other teams in the conference that also finished fourth). The division pairings for 2020 are as follows:

Highlights of the 2020 season included:

• NFL Kickoff Game: The 2020 season began with the Kickoff Game on Thursday, September 10. Defending Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City hosted and defeated Houston.^[104]
• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 26, featuring Houston at Detroit and Washington at Dallas, with Houston and Washington winning. Baltimore was scheduled to play at Pittsburgh in the primetime game,^[105] but it was postponed to December 2, due to several Ravens players and staff testing positive for COVID-19. This postponement reduced the Thanksgiving slate to two games for the first time since 2005.^[106][107]
• Christmas: As Christmas Eve fell on a Thursday, that week's Thursday Night Football game between Minnesota and New Orleans was instead played as a 4:30 p.m. ET start on Christmas Day, with New Orleans winning. This was the NFL's first Friday game since 2009, which was also a Christmas game.^[108]

With the final round of the 2020 Masters Tournament (whose rights are held by CBS) rescheduled from its normal April date to November 15, CBS was not given any 1:00 p.m. ET games that day, which fell during Week 10. CBS was given three games in the 4:05 p.m. ET slot, while Fox was given eight Sunday games, including three AFC-away games which generally air on CBS.^[109][110]

Scheduling changes

When the entire season schedule was released on May 7, the league announced that in Weeks 15 and 16, two or three of five designated games would be moved to Saturday. A total of four games were broadcast by the NFL Network and one was broadcast by Amazon Prime Video.^[111] COVID-19 outbreaks among teams forced the league to reshuffle games across several weeks.^[112]

• Week 4:
  • The Pittsburgh–Tennessee game, originally scheduled for October 4 at 1:00 p.m. ET, was postponed to October 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET due to several Tennessee players testing positive for COVID-19.^[113][114]
  • The New England–Kansas City game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, was postponed to Monday at 7:05 p.m. ET due to one positive COVID-19 test on each team, remaining on CBS.
  • The scheduled Monday Night Football game on ESPN, Atlanta–Green Bay, was postponed from 8:15 p.m. ET to 9:00 p.m. ET to accommodate the rescheduled New England–Kansas City game.^[115]
  • The Indianapolis–Chicago game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m., remaining on CBS, as a replacement for the New England–Kansas City game in that time slot.^[116][117]
• Week 5:
  • The Denver–New England game, which was originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was moved to 4:25 p.m. as part of the NFL's flex scheduling.^[118] The game was later postponed to Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET after multiple New England players tested positive for COVID-19.^[119] This game was again postponed to October 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET when another New England player tested positive.^[120] The game remained on CBS.
  • The Buffalo–Tennessee game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET was postponed to Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET due to several positive COVID-19 tests for Tennessee, remaining on CBS.^[119]
• Week 6:
  • The Kansas City–Buffalo game, originally scheduled for Thursday at 8:20 p.m. ET was moved to Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox and NFL Network, to avoid a situation in which the Bills would play games two days apart.^[119]
  • The New York Jets–Los Angeles Chargers game, originally scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET was moved to November 22 at 4:05 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS, to accommodate the Week 5 Denver–New England game.
  • The Miami–Denver game, originally scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET, was moved to November 22 at 4:05 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS, to accommodate Denver–New England.^[120]
• Week 7:
  • The Pittsburgh–Baltimore game, originally scheduled for October 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET was rescheduled for November 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS, to accommodate the Pittsburgh–Tennessee game from Week 4.^[114]
  • The Los Angeles Chargers–Miami game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET was moved to November 15 at 4:05 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS, to accommodate the Denver–New England game from Week 5.^[120]
  • The Tampa Bay–Las Vegas game, originally scheduled for Sunday Night Football, was moved to 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox, due to Las Vegas having multiple positive COVID-19 tests and to ensure a SNF game was available in case this game needed to postponed to a later date. The Seattle–Arizona game, originally scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox, was moved to SNF.^[121]
• Week 8:
  • The Jacksonville–Los Angeles Chargers game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET was rescheduled for October 25 at 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS, to accommodate the Denver–New England game from Week 5.^[120]
• Week 10:
  • The New York Jets–Miami game originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET was rescheduled for October 18 at 4:05 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS, to accommodate the Denver–New England game from Week 5. This also eliminated an unusual quirk in the schedule that would have had Miami and New York play each other in consecutive games, separated by their bye week.^[120]
  • The Cincinnati–Pittsburgh game originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET was rescheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox.^[110]
• Week 11:
  • The Los Angeles Chargers–Denver game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET was moved to November 1 at 4:05 p.m. ET to accommodate the Denver–New England game from Week 5.^[120]
  • The Green Bay–Indianapolis game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox.^[122]
• Week 12:
  • The Baltimore–Pittsburgh game, originally scheduled for Thursday at 8:20 p.m. ET, was postponed three times, ultimately to Wednesday at 3:40 p.m. ET, remaining on NBC, due to several Ravens players and staff testing positive for COVID-19.^[123]
• Week 13:
  • To accommodate the postponed Week 12 Baltimore–Pittsburgh game, the Washington–Pittsburgh game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, was postponed to Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET, and the Dallas–Baltimore game, originally scheduled for Thursday at 8:20 p.m. ET, was postponed to Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. ET, with both games remaining on Fox.^[124]
• Week 14:
  • The Green Bay–Detroit game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox.^[125]
• Week 15:^[126]
  • The Cleveland–New York Giants game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was moved to Sunday Night Football on NBC at 8:20 p.m. ET replacing the originally scheduled San Francisco–Dallas game which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.^[127][128]
  • On November 24, the NFL announced that two games would be moved to Saturday, December 19: Buffalo–Denver at 4:30 p.m. ET and Carolina–Green Bay at 8:15 p.m. ET. The three other games that the NFL had the option of scheduling on Saturday (Detroit–Tennessee, Houston–Indianapolis, and New York Jets–Los Angeles Rams) remained on December 20.
• Week 16:^[129]
  • On November 30, the NFL announced that three games would be moved to Saturday, December 26: Tampa Bay–Detroit at 1:00 p.m ET, San Francisco–Arizona at 4:30 p.m, and Miami–Las Vegas at 8:15 p.m. The San Francisco–Arizona game was assigned to Amazon. The two other games the NFL had the option of scheduling on Saturday (Cleveland–New York Jets and Denver–Los Angeles Chargers) remained on December 27.
  • The Cincinnati–Houston game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was cross-flexed to Fox, remaining at 1:00.^[130]
  • The Chicago–Jacksonville game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was cross-flexed to CBS, remaining at 1:00.^[130]
  • The Los Angeles Rams–Seattle game, originally scheduled at 4:05 p.m. ET on CBS, was cross-flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.^[130]
  • The Carolina–Washington game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was moved to 4:05 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS.
• Week 17:
  • The Washington–Philadelphia game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was selected as the final 8:20 p.m. ET NBC Sunday Night Football game of the season.^[131]
  • The Tennessee–Houston and Jacksonville–Indianapolis games, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, were moved to 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on CBS.^[131]
  • The New Orleans–Carolina and Green Bay–Chicago games, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, were moved to 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox.^[131]
  • The Los Angeles Chargers–Kansas City game, originally scheduled at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS, was cross-flexed to 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox.^[131]
  • The Arizona–Los Angeles Rams game was cross-flexed to CBS, remaining at 4:25 p.m. ET.^[131]

Division

Conference

Bracket

New Collective Bargaining Agreement

In March 2020, the NFL and the NFLPA agreed to a new CBA that will run through 2030.^[133] The previous CBA, signed in 2011, would have expired after this season.^[134]

Major changes in the new CBA include:^[135]

• Expanding the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams beginning this season.
• Allowing the league to expand the regular season from 16 to 17 games beginning in 2021 at the earliest, along with a corresponding reduction of the preseason from four games to three. The owners later approved this expansion for the 2021 season.
• Increasing the players' share of the league's overall revenue from 47% to 48% starting in 2021. This was increased to 48.8% following the expansion of the regular season to 17 games.^[136]
• Increasing team rosters from 53 to 55 players and game-day rosters from 46 to 48 players, with a minimum of eight offensive linemen. Practice squads increased from 10 to 12 players in 2020 and increased to 14 players in 2022.
• Allowing players to become eligible for pensions after three accrued seasons, down from four.^[137]
• Fully guaranteeing fifth-year options for first round picks if picked up by the team. In addition, the fifth year option salary can rise based on the player's performance in his first three seasons. Previously, it was only tied to when he was selected in the draft.^[138]
• Shortening the drug test window from four months to two weeks at the start of training camp and eliminating automatic suspensions solely based on positive tests.
• Establishing a "neutral decision-maker" to replace the NFL Commissioner on ruling most discipline cases.
• Improving teams' training facilities and establishing a network of hospitals in teams' home cities with free healthcare for current and former players.^[139]

Washington Redskins' name change

On July 1, following renewed attention to racial justice in wake of the George Floyd protests, a letter signed by 87 shareholders and investors was sent to sponsors of the then-Washington Redskins and NFL including Nike, FedEx, and Pepsi urging them to cut ties unless the team name was changed.^[140] Around the same time, several retail companies began to remove Redskins merchandise from their stores.^[141][142] In response, the team underwent a review of its name and logo. On July 23, the team announced that it would retire its name and logo.^[4] The team began playing as the "Washington Football Team" pending a permanent name being chosen.^[5]

Shooting of Jacob Blake

In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, Detroit canceled its scheduled practice on August 25.^[143] Nine other teams canceled their scheduled practices on August 27.^[144] Several teams that did not cancel practice issued statements about unity. The Jacksonville Jaguars canceled their scheduled afternoon activities.^[145]

COVID-19 outbreaks

• On September 30, it was reported that ten Tennessee players and staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Tennessee closed its practice facility through October 3 as the team continued testing and contact tracing. Tennessee's most recent opponent, Minnesota, also closed their facility as a precaution until they received more test results.^[146] The league postponed Tennessee's October 4 game against Pittsburgh to October 25^[113] and later postponed their October 11 game against Buffalo to October 13.^[119]
• On October 3, it was reported that New England QB Cam Newton and Kansas City practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu tested positive for COVID-19.^[147] The October 4 New England-Kansas City game was postponed to October 5 in order to determine if there were any additional positive tests on either team, which there were not.^[116] New England CB Stephon Gilmore tested positive for COVID-19 after this game, resulting in New England's October 11 game against Denver to be postponed initially to October 12, to allow for additional testing and tracing of New England players and staff.^[119] After another Patriots player tested positive, the game was postponed again to October 18. This required the league to reschedule six games across multiple weeks affecting Denver, New England, and four other teams.^[148]
• On October 21, it was reported that Las Vegas OT Trent Brown tested positive for COVID-19. Five other players, who were close contacts of Brown, were also placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. Las Vegas' game against Tampa Bay was moved out of that week's Sunday Night Football game to ensure another game could be played in this timeslot.^[149]
• On October 24, Buffalo tight end Dawson Knox tested positive for the virus. He and three other players, including all of the team's tight ends except Tyler Kroft, were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list. Buffalo played its game against the New York Jets as scheduled, with fullback Reggie Gilliam serving as a backup tight end.^[150]
• On November 23, Baltimore running backs Mark Ingram II and J. K. Dobbins both tested positive for COVID-19. Through the rest of the week and into the next week, a total of 18 players either tested positive or had COVID exposures, making them ineligible to play. The Ravens' Thanksgiving night game was delayed three times, to Wednesday afternoon December 2. Others to test positive were QB Lamar Jackson, OL Patrick Mekari, C Matt Skura, FB Patrick Ricard, LS Morgan Cox, TE Mark Andrews, WR Willie Snead, DE Calais Campbell, and NT Brandon Williams.^[151][152]
• On November 28, Denver quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles were ruled ineligible to play for Denver's Week 12 game against New Orleans after coming into close contact with Jeff Driskel who had tested positive for the virus; the team was also unable to sign a replacement free agent quarterback due to inability to clear testing protocols in time. This led to the Broncos elevating wide receiver Kendall Hinton from the practice squad to play quarterback.^[153][154] Hinton went 1/9 with 13 passing yards and two interceptions as the Broncos suffered a blowout loss to the Saints.^[155]

Individual season awards

The 10th Annual NFL Honors, honoring the best players and plays from the 2020 season, was held on February 6, 2021, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

All-Pro team

The following players were named First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press:

Players of the week/month

The following were named the top performers during the 2020 season:

Head coaches

Front office personnel

Stadium changes

• This was the first season that the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams shared SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The Rams had played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 2016 to 2019 and the Chargers had played at Dignity Health Sports Park from 2017 to 2019. SoFi Stadium became the fourth stadium since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger to be shared by two teams (Shea Stadium, Giants Stadium and MetLife Stadium, all of which have been shared by the New York Jets and New York Giants, are the other three). It was also the first stadium in the Rams' long history specifically designed and built for the team.
• The Las Vegas Raiders relocated from Oakland to the Las Vegas area and began playing their home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.
• Prior to this season, the Buffalo Bills had a buyout window in their lease with their home stadium.^[268] On January 31, the team formally declined the buyout option.^[269] Since the Bills chose not to opt out, the team cannot exit the lease until it expires at the end of the 2022 season.^[268]
  • On July 15, New Era Cap Company canceled its naming rights agreement on the Bills' stadium due to overall financial struggles. The stadium was renamed "Bills Stadium" for the 2020 season and will retain that name until a new sponsor is found.^[270]
• This was the last season in which Mercedes-Benz owned the naming rights sponsor for the New Orleans Saints's Louisiana Superdome.^[271]
• On November 19, the Seattle Seahawks' CenturyLink Field was renamed Lumen Field after CenturyLink rebranded to Lumen Technologies.^[272]

COVID-19 restrictions

The NFL allowed teams to admit spectators to games if allowed under local health orders. A total of 19 teams admitted spectators at a reduced capacity for at least one regular season home game. Two additional teams which did not admit spectators during the regular season admitted spectators for postseason games. Six teams allowed spectators for all home games. The majority of teams played without spectators through September and into October while admitting spectators later in the season.^[273][274] Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league's competition committee assessed that having spectators did not create a competitive advantage despite some coaches and executives disagreeing.^[275]

If spectators were admitted, they had to wear face masks and, in some stadiums, were required to sign a liability waiver.^[276] On-field entertainment was prohibited, including cheerleaders, mascots, marching bands, flag wavers, and end zone-to-end zone American flag displays.^[277] To reduce the proximity of spectators to the field, the league required the first six to eight rows of seats to be blocked with tarps.^[278] Halftime shows could be held, but only off-site, or as done on Thanksgiving, pre-recorded before the game.^[279]

On May 13, California officials indicated that they might not allow the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers to play at their home stadiums. Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium and Arizona's State Farm Stadium were listed as possible relocation sites for these teams.^[280][281] All three teams were ultimately allowed to begin the season at their home stadiums without spectators; however, the 49ers were forced to move their final three home games to State Farm Stadium after Santa Clara County, where the 49ers' home stadium is located, banned all contact sports in response to a local rise of COVID-19 cases.^[282][283]

The NFL initially mandated the use of artificial crowd noise inside all stadiums with attendance below 10,000, consisting of non-dynamic ambience played at 70 decibels.^[284] The audio was monitored by the league and teams were subject to sanctions if they were found to have manipulated it (such as by changing its volume).^{[285][286][287]} On September 25, these rules were adjusted, allowing the ambiance to be played at up to 80 decibels. The volume must be determined before the game and remain consistent through the entire game. The minimum attendance required to turn off the crowd noise was reduced to 2,500.^[288] As part of Microsoft's sponsorship of the NFL, a "Fan Mosaic" feature powered by Microsoft Teams was featured on stadium video boards during select games.^[289]

Uniform changes

Eight teams unveiled uniform changes, ranging from minor adjustments to full rebrands.

• Atlanta: On April 8, the Falcons unveiled new uniforms, featuring a matte shell helmet, a larger helmet logo, silver facemasks, new fonts for the numbers, and a prominent "ATL" placed above the numbers. The team returned to black as the primary jersey color. A new alternate jersey features a red gradient.^[336]
• Cleveland: On April 15, the Browns revealed new uniforms that reverted to the design used prior to 2015, albeit with an updated nameplate font and number design. Some elements of the 2015 style were retained, including the brighter shade of orange, the modernized version of block numbers, and brown facemasks.^[337]
• Indianapolis: On April 13, the Colts announced that serifs were added to their jersey numbers similar to the design used in the 1950s and 1960s and revealed a new modernized wordmark and secondary logo that features the outline of Indiana carved out of a "C". They also introduced a new color, anvil black.^[338]
• Los Angeles Chargers: On March 24, the Chargers announced that they would eliminate navy blue from their official branding, building on their 2019 change of the primary jersey color to powder blue. They also debuted a modified logo and a new wordmark to reflect this.^[339] On April 21, the Chargers revealed new uniforms, which use elements from previous sets, including numbers on the helmets and the addition of a navy blue alternate set.^[340]
• Los Angeles Rams: On March 23, the Rams unveiled new logos and color scheme. The new colors are brighter shades of the royal blue and gold used on their 1999 throwback jerseys, dubbed "Rams Royal" and "Sol" by the team, respectively. The team's new logo features a stylized "LA" with a ram's horn spiraling out from the top of the "A".^[341] The team unveiled new uniforms on May 13. Notable features include the addition of an off-white "Bone" away jersey, team wordmark logo patches on the right side of the chest and a unique fabric for the numbers. The helmet also has a metallic "Rams Royal" colored shell and a new ram horn design to match the logos.
• New England: The Patriots former all-blue alternate design became the primary home uniform set, with updated block letters and numbers and blue/red/white socks. A corresponding white jersey was also unveiled and will also be paired with the blue pants. Both uniforms feature truncated shoulder striping as a nod to the "Pat Patriot" uniforms.^[342]
• Tampa Bay: On April 7, the Buccaneers unveiled new uniforms resembling the ones used from 1997 to 2013, including that design's block numbers, black masks, pewter pants, and all-white road set. Some elements of the previous design remain, including the enlarged flag-and-crossed-swords logo and the secondary ship logo on the sleeves. The team also unveiled an all-pewter alternate uniform.^[343]
• Washington: On July 23, the franchise announced it would play the season as the "Washington Football Team" and dropped the Redskins logo while retaining the color scheme. The team's uniforms essentially remained the same, but without the helmet stripe and with the logo being replaced by the player's jersey number in gold, as well as a "Washington" wordmark on the chest replacing "Redskins".^[344] In December the team began wearing white jerseys over white pants on the road for the first time since 2009.^[345]

Patches

• Arizona: A patch to commemorate the death of Hall of Famer Larry Wilson, with his number 8 enclosed in either a black circle (red and white jersey) or white circle (black jersey).^[346]
• Dallas: An "Established in 1960" patch to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the team's inception.^[347]
• Las Vegas: A patch to commemorate the team's first season in Las Vegas.^[348]
• Miami: A patch to commemorate the death of Hall of Fame head coach Don Shula, featuring his name and the number 347 to signify his NFL record career wins.^[349]
• New York Jets: A patch to commemorate the death of philanthropist Betty Wold Johnson, the mother of Jets CEO Christopher Johnson.^[350][351]
• Washington: A patch to commemorate the death of Hall of Famer Bobby Mitchell, with his number 49 enclosed in a black circle.^[352]

Broadcast rights

Personnel

Tony Romo, CBS' lead color commentator, renewed his contract in a long-term, $17 million per-year deal, the most lucrative contract for a commentator in NFL history.^[368]

CBS parted ways with #2 commentator Dan Fouts and replaced him with Fox's #2 commentator Charles Davis.^[369] Fox utilized Daryl Johnston in this spot.^[370]

To reduce his workload and travel, NBC Sunday Night Football lead commentator Al Michaels took several games off in favor of Mike Tirico.^[287][371]

ESPN replaced its former Monday Night Football commentator team of Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland with Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Louis Riddick.^[372][373] Levy and Griese had been a broadcast team for ESPN's college football coverage prior to their Monday Night Football assignment, Levy also served as ESPN's lead XFL play-by-play voice. Fellow college football announcing duo Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit called the first game of the Week 1 MNF doubleheader.^[373] Herbstreit also worked the ESPN2 Monday Night Megacast broadcast with Rece Davis during the Week 2 MNF game.

After using a homophobic slur during a Cincinnati Reds game, Thom Brennaman was removed from Fox's NFL broadcasts for 2020.^[374] Brennaman, who also worked for the Reds, was suspended from doing games "until further notice". He later resigned from that role.^[375] Kevin Kugler replaced Brennaman.^[376]

This was the final season for Chris Spielman at Fox. Before Week 14, he left Fox to take a front office position with the Detroit Lions, effective immediately. #6 Brock Huard, who was a new addition to Fox's Sunday commentator roster, would move up to the #5 slot with Kevin Kugler to replace Spielman.

This was also the final season for long-time announcer Dick Stockton, who announced his retirement on March 25, 2021. Stockton, whose broadcasting resume spanned over five decades, called NFL games for CBS and Fox during his career.^[377]

Impact of COVID-19 on production

Broadcasters were limited to 46 staff members at each game. Sideline reporters were not allowed on the field.^[277] CBS,^[378] Fox, and NBC had commentators on-site,^[287] but some production was conducted remotely from the networks' headquarters.^[287][378] The NFL required personnel returning from outside of the United States to quarantine for 14 days before returning to work.

The league provided an enhanced artificial crowd noise track to be used by its broadcasters, separate from the crowd noise that is used at stadiums below 2,500 in attendance. The soundtrack uses crowd audio collected by NFL Films from past games involving the home team, including general ambience, team-specific chants, and contextual reactions. It is mixed by a local sound engineer at the stadium in synchronization with the game.^[284] Fox had explored the possibility of masking empty stands with CGI crowds.^[379] Fox introduced such a system on-air for its Major League Baseball broadcasts,^[380] and later announced that it would use the technology for selected NFL games.^[381] NBC ruled out virtual fans, citing the large number of camera angles that would have to be configured. NBC added a 180-degree 8K resolution camera to the Skycam unit for "intimate" overhead views, supplanting wide-angle shots that would expose stands with little to no spectators.^[382][383] At games played with no spectators, CBS allowed its Skycam to be in positions over the stands that are not generally allowed in order to provide new angles.^[378]

The pandemic also affected pre-game shows: ESPN's Monday Night Countdown and NFL Network's NFL GameDay were broadcast from their respective networks' studios, rather than traveling to game sites.^[384] Fox NFL Sunday panelist Jimmy Johnson contributed from his home in Florida, rather than join the rest of the panel at the Fox studio in Los Angeles.^[385] As a precautionary measure, the normal panelists for Fox NFL Kickoff and Fox NFL Sunday did not appear in-studio for Week 11, with Chris Myers, Reggie Bush, and Charles Woodson replacing them, and the regular personnel appearing remotely.^[386][387]

Two commentators were unable to pass their network's COVID-19 protocols and each had to miss one game: Al Michaels for NBC in Week 15 and Tony Romo for CBS in Week 17.^[388]

Most watched regular season games

• DH = doubleheader; SNF = Sunday Night Football; MNF = Monday Night Football; TNF = Thursday Night Football

*Note – Late DH matchups listed in table are the matchups that were shown to the largest percentage of the market.