The NFL is getting started: What you need to know at the start of the season

At the start of the league, the focus is not only on how football veteran Tom Brady performs in his new team after two glorious decades with the New England Patriots. Or how quarterback superstar Patrick Mahomes copes with the pressure of the most valuable contract in sports history. Even dealing with the corona pandemic briefly took a back seat on Thursday. When the first notes of the “Star-Spangled Banner” sound before the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs opener, America looks forward to the reactions of players during the US anthem.

Recently, there have been widespread actions in other sports, including strikes, due to renewed police violence against black people, and the NFL also wants to support its professionals in anti-racism protests. Players will be allowed to wear stickers with names of victims on their helmets, and referees and coaches will display writing on their caps. The words “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us” will also be read in the end zones. Players also have the right to forego games completely in protest. “It’s bigger than the Super Bowl.” Jason McCourty on the racism debate “Will we change the world? No, absolutely not,” said Jason McCourty of the New England Patriots. “But I think we are blessed and in a position where we can make a difference. This isn't about chasing the Super Bowl. It’s bigger than that. When you realize that, you can fight for what you feel is right.”

This fight was started almost exactly four years ago by then-star quarterback Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers, when he first remained seated during the anthem and later knelt to protest against police brutality and racism. “I wish we had listened sooner,” NFL boss Roger Goodell recently admitted. Protesting players had repeatedly had to defend themselves against accusations - including from US President Donald Trump - that they were unpatriotic or against the US military. Despite encouragement, Kaepernick remains without a job Kaepernick hasn't had a job in the National Football League since 2017 - and remained unemployed before this season. “The NFL’s anti-racism gestures are meaningless unless Colin Kaepernick is signed,” commented the USA Today therefore during the season break.

In order to be able to play again at all, the NFL wants to continue testing players and supervisors for Covid-19 every day, with the exception of game days. There were no major corona incidents during the training camps, and until shortly before the start of the season there were only a dozen positive tests among the teams. Preparatory games were completely canceled and 67 professionals are voluntarily foregoing the season because of the pandemic.

The Raiders' new home in Las Vegas was recently completed, but fans won't be allowed in any time soon. © APA/getty / Ethan Miller

At least at the beginning of the season, only a few arenas will allow spectators in the stands, for example at the Chiefs' opener against the Houston Texans. The Raiders, who moved from Oakland to Las Vegas, have already announced that they will be without fans for the entire season.

In terms of sport, defending champions Kansas City with Mahomes are in July signed a ten-year deal with the prospect of more than half a billion dollars , and the Baltimore Ravens around playmaker Lamar Jackson are top favorites for the Super Bowl triumph. The betting providers also have a lot of confidence in Brady after his move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after 20 years and six title wins with the New England Patriots. Will Brady make it back into the spotlight? However, the most successful professional football player of the modern era is not one of the loudspeakers when it comes to the currently overshadowing topic in American sports. “The league needs your voice now,” Jarvis Landry of the Cleveland Browns wrote directly to Brady via Twitter two months ago. “I ask you as a colleague, as a brother, as one of the most respected players of all time...We need to hear you.”

Before the start of the season, Brady did not comment specifically on protests against racism, but promised to learn from his teammates. "I think everyone makes the decisions that they feel are best for them and everyone is very sensitive to what's going on," the 43-year-old said. He tries to “listen and learn.” With an effective signal, Brady could show in his first game with Tampa Bay on Sunday that he has understood these messages.

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The NFL is getting started: What you need to know at the start of the season

Rarely have there been more question marks before the start of the NFL season than immediately before the opening game between the Chiefs and the Texans on Friday night. A preview.

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