Report: NFL will allow teams to decide attendance capacity

The NFL won't dictate attendance capacity limits for the 2020 season and has told teams to instead follow their local health COVID-19 guidelines on social distancing rules, according to The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan.

"Attendance will be a state-by-state, county-by-county thing," one NFL source told Kaplan. "It will not be a one-size-fits-all."

The source added: "I wish they would push back the start of the year to October to give us more time to learn from these other leagues."

The NFL has said it is planning to play in front of fans and start the season on time despite the coronavirus pandemic, though it has reportedly created contingency plans that include closed-door games.

It's been estimated that the NFL could lose $3 billion if the entire regular season and playoffs are played without fans, added Kaplan.

The league will reportedly receive recommendations from its stadium reopening task force by next week or early July.

If the NFL decides to proceed with no leaguewide mandate on attendance limits, the question of how it impacts competitive balance will likely need to be answered.