2020 NFL opt-out deadline: Five players opt out on final day, including one Jets receiver

The NFL and NFLPA finalized the rules surrounding opt-out protocol for the 2020 season earlier this week as players decide whether to risk playing football during a pandemic. The agreement established a firm deadline of 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, which has now come and gone. From here, players will only have the opportunity to opt out if “a close family member gets seriously sick with COVID or if they themselves are newly diagnosed with a high-risk condition,” per the NFLPA.

There were two types of opt-out options. Players who qualify as having a high-risk condition will receive a $350,000 stipend that does not count as a salary advance, their contracts will toll, and they will earn an accrued season toward free agency. Those who don’t qualify as high risk can choose the voluntary opt-out option, which includes a $150,000 salary advance for the 2021 season and a tolling of contracts but no credit of an accrued season.

Five players were added to the opt-out list Thursday: Jets WR Josh Doctson, Chiefs OT Lucas Niang, Bucs OT Brad Seaton, Jaguars CB Rashaan Melvin and Browns G Malcolm Pridgeon. You can also find the full list of players who have opted out of 2020 broken down by team in our tracker.

Below, you can catch up with the latest news from deadline day as it happened.