NFL had 0.08% COVID-19 positivity rate for the season

NFL officials hope to be able to brag after Super Bowl LV concludes on Sunday night that the league is the first top-flight North American sports competition to begin and end a full season on time and without significant interruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While multiple NFL teams battled through virus outbreaks, all 17 weeks of the regular season were completed by the end of Jan. 3, and the Super Bowl remained scheduled for Feb. 7 at Raymond James Stadium. 

As Grant Gordon noted for the league's official website, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said during a Wednesday conference call that the league's COVID-19 positivity rate heading into Super Bowl week was 0.08% for the season. This amounts to 262 cases among NFL Players Association members and 463 among other personnel. 

"We feel that our club facilities truly were some of the safest possible locations," Sills added. 

The NFL enforced strict health and safety guidelines during the fall to limit the risk of outbreaks, and the league also fined both clubs and personnel for violations. By mid-November, the Las Vegas Raiders had been fined over $1 million for repeatedly failing to adhere to protocols. 

Earlier on Wednesday, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union has no plan to postpone Super Bowl LV if a star player or multiple big names test positive for the coronavirus through the second half of the week. 

Kansas City Chiefs center Daniel Kilgore and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson are on the reserve/COVID-19 list after being deemed high-risk close contacts but could be cleared to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday if they continue to test negative for the virus.