The 2020 NFL season was the 101st season of the National Football League (NFL). The regular season started with the NFL Kickoff Game on September 10, in which the defending Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans. The playoffs were expanded from 12 to 14 teams, adding a third wild card spot per conference. The season concluded with Tampa Bay defeating Kansas City 31–9 in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 7, 2021.
After a decades-long controversy, the Washington Redskins retired the use of their name and logo and adopted the temporary placeholder name Washington Football Team up until their official name change to Washington Commanders for the 2022 season.
The season was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; the most prominent changes were the cancellation of all preseason games and the 2021 Pro Bowl, the suspension of international games for the year, an allowance for players to opt out of playing the season without violating their contracts (66 players opted out), the playing of games with either a greatly reduced audience or no fans at all, and the postponement and/or rescheduling of multiple games due to numerous positive COVID-19 tests among players and staff. Despite these changes, all 256 regular season games were played within the original 17-week span with no cancellations.
This was also the final season played under the 16-game schedule, as the schedule was expanded to 17 games in 2021.
Player movement The 2020 NFL league year and trading period began on March 18. On March 16, teams were allowed to exercise options for 2020 on players with option clauses in their contracts, submit qualifying offers to their pending restricted free agents, and submit a Minimum Salary Tender to retain exclusive negotiating rights to their players with expiring 2019 contracts and fewer than three accrued seasons of free agent credit. Teams were required to be under the salary cap using the "top 51" definition (in which the 51 highest-paid players on the team's payroll must have a combined salary cap). On March 16, clubs were allowed to contact and begin contract negotiations with the agents of players who were set to become unrestricted free agents.
This season's salary cap increased to $198.2 million per team, up from $188.2 million in 2019.
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), Adrian Peterson (Washington to Detroit), LeSean McCoy (Kansas City Chiefs to Tampa Bay) 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. 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. March 18: Jacksonville traded DE Calais Campbell to Baltimore for a 2020 fifth-round selection. 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. March 18: Tennessee traded DE Jurrell Casey to Denver for a 2020 seventh-round selection. March 18: San Francisco traded DT DeForest Buckner to Indianapolis for a 2020 first-round selection. March 18: Jacksonville traded QB Nick Foles to Chicago for a 2020 fourth-round selection. March 18: Carolina traded G Trai Turner to the Los Angeles Chargers for T Russell Okung. March 18: Jacksonville traded CB A. J. Bouye to Denver for a 2020 fourth-round selection. March 19: Detroit traded CB Darius Slay to Philadelphia for a 2020 third-round selection and 2020 a fifth-round selection. April 9: The Los Angeles Rams traded WR Brandin Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round selection to Houston for a 2020 second-round selection. April 21: New England traded TE Rob Gronkowski and a 2020 seventh-round selection to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round selection. April 25: Washington traded OT Trent Williams to San Francisco for a 2020 fifth-round selection and a 2021 third-round selection. 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. August 30: Jacksonville traded DE Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota for a 2021 second-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection that would have converted to as high as a third-round selection if Ngakoue was voted as a Pro Bowl player and the Vikings won Super Bowl LV, but neither condition was satisfied. September 4: Cincinnati traded LB Austin Calitro to Denver for DT Christian Covington. September 5: Las Vegas traded WR Lynn Bowden and a conditional 2021 sixth-round selection to Miami for a 2021 fourth-round selection. October 22: Minnesota traded DE Yannick Ngakoue to Baltimore for a 2021 third-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection which could have become a fourth-round selection. October 29: Cincinnati traded DE Carlos Dunlap to Seattle for C B. J. Finney and a 2021 seventh-round selection. November 3: San Francisco traded LB Kwon Alexander to New Orleans for LB Kiko Alonso and a conditional 2021 fifth-round selection.
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. 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. 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. QB Eli Manning Four-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl champion and 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. OT Joe Staley Six-time Pro Bowler and three-time second-team All-Pro. Played for San Francisco during his entire 13-year career. 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. 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. Weddle later came out of retirement in 2021 to rejoin the Rams. 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.
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. 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. Goodell unveiled the first-round picks from his home in Bronxville, New York. Cincinnati, by virtue of having the worst record in 2019, held the first overall selection and selected QB Joe Burrow out of LSU.
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 salary. Players who opted out due to medical conditions received a $350,000 stipend which was not taken from their 2021 salary. The following is a list of all players who opted out:
Players who opted out Name Position Team WR Detroit DT Detroit CB New York GiantsWR San Francisco DT Cleveland C Detroit RB New England DT Washington OT Los Angeles Rams CB Dallas OT New England S New England OT San Francisco WR New York Jets OT Cleveland G Kansas City LB Las Vegas G Cleveland WR Green Bay CB Buffalo OT Arizona DT Chicago WR Philadelphia G Cleveland WR Dallas LB Washington LB New England WR Miami OT Denver CB Las Vegas C New York Jets TE New England WR New England DT Buffalo S Chicago LB Carolina LB Jacksonville OT Tennessee CB Jacksonville LB Carolina S Indianapolis LB Indianapolis LB New York Jets OT Kansas City FB Dallas DT Denver DT Minnesota G Cleveland OT Cincinnati WR New York Giants OT Tampa Bay OT Baltimore OT New York Giants CB Indianapolis WR Baltimore OT New England OT Cincinnati DE Las Vegas DT Houston TE New Orleans FB New England G Free agent G Seattle TE New Orleans RB Kansas City WR Miami DT Jacksonville
Officiating changes