NFLPA Works to Remove OTA’s From Offseason Schedule a Year After Docking Bill Belichick $50 K for Violating Rules

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is considering a significant change to the NFL’s off-season schedule. They are working on a proposal to remove Organized Team Activities (OTAs) from the offseason, potentially starting in 2025. This proposal aims to eliminate voluntary on-field work in the spring and replace it with a longer training camp that starts from mid-June to early July. Tom Pelissero has shared this news on X today.

The NFLPA’s new leadership, which took over in July 2023, has been gathering feedback from players. Most players support this change. They feel that the current nine-week offseason program, divided into three phases, is too long and doesn’t provide enough rest.

The three phases are meetings, on-field drills, and organized team activities. During organized team activities, teams can organize one compulsory minicamp for former players. The current schedule occurs from mid-April to mid-June, followed by a six-week break before training camps start in mid-to late July.

Furthermore, the NFL Players Association has collaborated with medical and performance professionals to devise a strategy aimed at decreasing injuries and enhancing recovery periods. The proposed schedule would still allow for virtual classroom work in the spring, but would eliminate on-field practices until the start of training camp. 

This proposal comes after the New England Patriots faced penalties for violating offseason rules. The NFL fined head coach Bill Belichick $50,000 and docked the team two days of OTAs in 2023. The violation was related to meetings that were not part of the official schedule and exceeded the four-hour workday limit specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

NFLPA’s Complaint against Patriots spurs the move

The NFL Players Association filed a complaint against the Bill’s Patriots on May 4, 2023, alleging the team violated Article 21, Section 5(b) of the CBA. This article limits players’ time at the facility to no more than four hours per day. The complaint noted that the Patriots held meetings and workshops that were not on the official schedule on May 1, May 2, and May 4.

These activities reportedly extended the players’ time at the facility beyond the four-hour limit. The Patriots argued that these meetings were optional, and no attendance was taken, but the NFLPA believed they were effectively mandatory since they were listed on the internal schedule.

As a result, the NFL determined that these meetings violated the CBA. The Boston Sports Journal reported that Joe Judge, who is working with special teams in 2023, was at the center of this violation because his meeting caused the offense and defensive players to be at the facility for more than four hours. The NFLPA’s push to eliminate OTAs from the offseason schedule reflects a broader effort to prioritize player well-being. The proposal could reshape the NFL’s offseason, providing players a better chance to recover before the start of a season.