FRISCO, Texas – The NFL appears optimistic about a return to normalcy for the 2021 season.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on a conference call Tuesday at the conclusion of a virtual league meeting. The main story of the day was the league's approval to expand the regular season to 17 games, but Goodell did drop an interesting line about attendance this coming season.
"All of us in the NFL want to see every one of our fans back," Goodell said. "Football is simply not the same without the fans and we expect to have full stadiums in the 2021 season."
That's obviously big news coming off a season that saw attendance dip to just 1.2 million across the league. The Cowboys did lead the NFL in attendance last fall, but it was a far cry from having a full building – which is something team owner/general manager Jerry Jones has already alluded to this spring."
"I feel very good about saying to you we're going to play with a full house," Jones said earlier this month.
Jones was sure to point out that the Cowboys will do so safely, thanks to the capabilities of AT&T Stadium.
"We have a great facility where we can do prudent things when we need to," he said. "But we've gotten better in the NFL and the Cowboys of putting the show on, with safety in mind."
Kickoff is still a solid five months away, but the NFL's decision makers are clearly gaining confidence that 2021 will look a lot more normal than 2020.
