Tons of NFL players have questions about the Opt-Out Rules

I am getting blown up by players left and right after I wrote my piece earlier today about the Opt-Out Rule.

The biggest question I continue to get from the players themselves is:

If I decide to opt-out and receive the 150k dollars then come back next year and do not make the team do I have to pay the stipend back?

I have had over 10 players contact me already today telling me they want to opt-out but that is the biggest question they will have. They are worried about COVID-19 and getting it to their families, but they do not have the funds to pay back the money. So they feel deep down inside that if they do not make the team and the NFL comes to collect the money they are not going to be able to pay it back.

That will set back their families more than getting COVID-19. So they are weighing the two options. If they are not required to pay the 150,000 dollars back if they fail to make the team in 2021, you will see probably 20 plus players from every team drop off. I am not even kidding when I say that.

Many of these players are truly worried about COVID-19. I talked to one long time agent, who said his players would not pay back the 150k if he didn’t make the team and he would take it to arbitration.

I am calling around the league to see if I can get an answer, because it sounds right now that unless you have an underlying issue you do not have to pay back the money. What if you are truly scared of contracting the sickness?

The second big question is this: If you have a family member who has diabetes or an underlying issue, and you cannot pay back the 150k but you want to opt out for your families safety the only way you can play is stay away from your family?

Per sources, Under the new deal players who live with an at risk family member will have to choose between opting out of the season or deciding to play while living with the at risk family member or play while living away from that family member for the next 6 months possibly.

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 24, 2020

We are working to find out the answers so stay tuned……