2021 NFL Draft still on schedule in Cleveland despite college football cancellations
The 2021 NFL Draft is still on schedule to be held in downtown Cleveland on April 30-May 2. That remains the status quo despite the very unchartered waters that have been created by several college football conferences canceling the fall season.
That could change if the Big Ten, PAC-12 and other conferences who have given up trying to play this fall shift their football seasons to the spring. Both the NFL and the city of Cleveland appear ready to adapt to the ever-changing situation in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com noted this week that the dates can be moved as late as June 2nd, based on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“According to the CBA, the NFL could actually move the draft up to and through June 2 without renegotiating things with the NFLPA. That is very much on the radar,” Rapoport said on Good Morning Football. “If college football goes in the spring, don’t be surprised to see the draft in maybe late-May, maybe in June. Again, this is something the NFL wants to make sure it happens. It would be tougher. It might devalue draft picks a little bit because those guys coming in might not be able to contribute right away. But it’s all been adjusted in the COVID-19 world, so this is something the NFL is fully willing to deal with.”
Adaptability is also something willing to be done on the Cleveland end of the equation, too. David Gilbert, the President of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com that he’s been in close contact with the NFL. Gilbert expects the draft to remain as scheduled for now, turning Public Square into the “Draft Village” that has become so popular in recent years in Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas. But they’re also ready to change if the NFL needs it.
“We’re working with the NFL almost on a daily basis on one issue or another related to the draft and right now, it’s all systems go for a draft that last weekend in April,’’ Gilbert said via cleveland.com. “But also understanding that if situations change, that could change as well. But there aren’t Plan Bs being discussed or anything like that at this point.”
Some smaller conferences are already shifting to a spring football schedule, including the D-III Ohio Athletic Conference, which features several colleges around Northeast Ohio.
