Report: NFL plans for full season, Super Bowl in late February

The NFL hopes to maintain a 16-game regular season and keep its Super Bowl in February this season, but the league is formulating several contingency plans, according to Sports Business Journal.

Among the models being considered:

— Beginning the season Oct. 15 and ending in February.

— The Super Bowl being moved to Feb. 28. It is scheduled to be played Feb. 7 in Tampa, Florida.

— Playing without bye weeks.

— Cutting the two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl to one and canceling the Pro Bowl.

The uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down sports and prompted the NFL to conduct its draft last week from remote locations. Sports-starved fans tuned in, setting a record with an average viewership of 8.4 million.

Though the NFL hopes to play a full season and not delay the Super Bowl by more than three weeks, Sports Business Journal said league officials realize they are beholden to many factors out of their control. Those include if the coronavirus spreads throughout the summer, what state and local leaders decide regarding opening sports venues, and any medical advances to get COVID-19 in check.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said the schedule will be announced May 9, but this report said executives have discussed everything from revealing it as early as May 7 to holding off completely until more is known.

The Raiders are scheduled to play their first season at Allegiant Stadium.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.