While some NFL teams plan on having fans attend games this fall, others have already decided to go fan-less, but that does not mean the stadium will be silent.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is considering a league-wide policy that would enable fan sound to be heard in stadiums.
It would be a move that follows the footsteps of the MLB, NBA and NHL – all of which are playing games without any fans but still have fan noise being pumped through the stadiums or arenas.
Allowing teams to pump fan noise into the stadium would certainly appear to level any advantage teams like the Kansas City Chiefs – who finalized plans to allow reduced capacity into Arrowhead Stadium – would have over teams with no fans at all.
In addition to the Chiefs, the Cowboys, Ravens and Jaguars have all expressed desire to have fans attend games in a reduced capacity, but many teams are at least beginning the season without fans.
The Jets, Giants, Patriots and Bears are among the teams that have already made decisions against fans attending games this fall – at least through the month of September.
Other teams, such as the Cleveland Browns, are reportedly still in discussions on what to ultimately do with fans but are optimistic.
Fabricated crowd noise has been a point of contention in the past for the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons were fined $350,000 and stripped of a fifth-round draft pick in 2016 for pumping in fake noise at the Georgia Dome during the 2013-14 season.
Of course, the circumstances are much different this time as the NFL attempts to play its season through the coronavirus pandemic.
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