The NFL agent’s pause on advising his clients on COVID-19 vaccinations spoke volumes.
With 2021 training camps looming, the league-wide topic of player vaccination rates — low for some teams — has put the agent in a rare headspace. For clients who are hesitant to get vaccinated, he knew his advice on this personal issue would only go so far. It’s the same with anything he would push, even with the potentially career-altering ramifications.
“Each player has to make their own decision,” the agent said after hesitating to answer a question about working with vaccine-resistant clients. “I just hope the players make an informed decision, but the medical experts don’t. You can make whatever decision you want, but you have to face the consequences. So if you are subject to different rules, don’t complain about it. That’s life. You chose this. It’s not serious, but there are consequences.
These exact consequences and the league’s then-vague business decision are now made explicit. According to a note obtained Thursday by AthleticismNFL teams that have a COVID-19 outbreak will be forced to forfeit the games concerned if they cannot be rescheduled under the current 18-week schedule. These teams would also be subject to financial losses and possibly additional sanctions from the league.
The Association Press reported last week that two teams, Washington and Indianapolis, remained less than 50 percent vaccinated. Those numbers have improved – no team is below 50 percent and 78 percent of all players have received at least one dose, a league source confirmed – but the potential for detrimental impact on teams remains .
“Obviously clubs (with lower vaccination rates) are at a competitive disadvantage,” another league source said.
The feeling of helplessness has spread throughout the agent community.
“We give them as much credible information as possible and let them make decisions based on their personal beliefs,” another representative said. “We told them life might be harder if they didn’t, but it’s a business decision that teams and the league make.”
The responsibility to convince players does not fall solely on their individual agents, but these representatives hear complaints from their customers and teams.
Among the dozen agents to speak with Athleticism in recent days, the majority have expressed their understanding of their client’s choice to refuse the vaccine even if the agents do not agree and they themselves are dosed.
“This is a very personal topic, so I’m going to approach it lightly,” a third agent said. “If the child says (insistently) that I don’t do that, then I let it go. Once someone really makes up their mind on a subject like this, you’re not going to change their mind. I make sure they are aware of the science and the consequences of not doing it, then I let it go.
A veteran agent has spoken out.
“It drives me up a fucking wall. It is clear that the science is right and the vaccine is safe enough, and it is clear that the disease dies the more people are vaccinated and the more they wear masks. And when I have clients who don’t want to wear a mask or don’t get vaccinated, I can’t even talk to them because there’s no real reason why they won’t. …
“Either it’s some bullshit conspiracy theory they’re reading on Facebook. …or an anecdotal story about something that happened to someone they heard about in a city or state they’ve never been to is why they won’t understand. It means absolutely nothing.”
The consequences, the third agent explained, go beyond the possibility of the team taking a financial hit or losing a playoff spot due to a forfeit.
This agent detailed what the unvaccinated will face, in addition to daily testing, in accordance with NFL policy: “Limited interaction with other players. Eat separately. Restrictions in the weight room. It is very costly for those who choose not to be vaccinated, and these children must pay the price if that is the choice they want to make. You have to be really grounded in your beliefs if you want to go through all this mess about not getting vaccinated.
Agents are concerned that players on the roster bubble or perhaps even some considered certain to make their team could suffer specific damage.
Unvaccinated players who test positive for COVID-19 remain subject to 2020 protocols, meaning a 10-day isolation period and return once asymptomatic. Any vaccinated and asymptomatic player can resume activity after testing negative twice 24 hours apart. That’s a significant time difference, whether in Week 1 or in the season-ending playoffs.
“We let them know that these teams can’t cut players strictly because of COVID,” said a fifth agent, “but the mountain we would have to climb to prove that a player was cut strictly because he was not vaccinated would be quite difficult to do.”
One of the 12 officers said he supported those who refused the vaccine because “we don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen in 10, 15, 20 years, in terms of … the effect that it may have have on a person’s body. …. But (I remind them to) make a business decision about your future. Because I believe if you’re a guy who’s in the bubble and you’re not vaccinated, I think the clubs are going to say, if (another player) has better or equal talent, they’ll probably release you because that you have no talent. I don’t have a vaccine.
NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills told NFL.com on Thursday Player vaccination rates “are well above what we’re seeing in the rest of society and certainly above the same age group as most of our players. So that’s a good head start, there’s still work to do.
Washington coach Ron Rivera in June said the team’s entire football staff was vaccinated while players were “close” to 50 percent.
“We’re slowly getting more and more players vaccinated,” Rivera said. “It’s a choice. They have to make a choice. We’re trying to emphasize the fact that if we can get to herd immunity, we can really go out and enjoy things, so I hope that happens.
However, Washington remained below this meager intermediate threshold until recently. A team spokesperson declined to comment on the NFL’s updated vaccination policy.
Before the end of the offseason program in June, Washington offered its players the opportunity to hear from Kizzmekia S. Corbett, an immunologist and lead coronavirus team scientist at the Vaccine Research Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health .
“I know that myself and all these other guys have been exposed to what you might call fake news or just rumors on social media about vaccines, and maybe conspiracies and stuff like that,” Washington rookie wide receiver Dax Milne said. “Some guys are obviously in favor of that: getting vaccinated. Some guys are still hesitant a little. But personally, it was good to hear the real facts, and I plan to see a lot more people getting vaccinated on the team.
Corbett’s voice and Milne’s perspective are the type of resource and response officers covet. They understand the professional and financial consequences for their clients who stay away from the vaccine and provide information often lightly and without judgment. They can’t do much.
At a minimum, the facts are now clear as to what would happen if a virus outbreak forced a team to pause its season.
(Photo: Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
