NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is weighing up new safety protocols for the post-season but rejected the idea of playing in a "bubble" setting, amid a surge of COVID-19 cases across the United States.
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Numerous NFL games have been delayed due to players testing positive and the highest-profile scheduling headache ends on Wednesday, when a divisional match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens goes ahead nearly a week after its intended primetime Thanksgiving Day slot.
The game also marks the official end of the NFL's Week 12 and puts the finish line for the regular season in sight - with Goodell having said the league remains committed to finishing the regular season as scheduled.
"We're continuing to evaluate the types of changes we may want to make coming into the post-season," Goodell told reporters on Wednesday.
"All of the options are on the table to make sure we do it safely, correctly and recognising the unique nature of the post-season versus the regular season."
The league mandated its set of "intensive protocols" for all teams earlier this month but Goodell rejected the idea of using a "bubble" environment for the post-season - despite the precedents set by the NBA, WNBA and NHL.
"We don't see the bubble as I think most of you refer to it as, where we're all in one location and we're isolating," Goodell said.
Meanwhile, the Daytona 500 will have limited spectators for NASCAR's season-opening race on February 14 - although the actual figure for the Daytona International Speedway race remained unclear.
In soccer, Real Madrid said they have lost more than 100 million euros ($A164m) in income because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Madrid said the impact of the pandemic represented a 13 per cent reduction in income for the 2019-20 season with their budget for the 2020-21 campaign projected to be about 300m euros ($A490m) less than what would have been expected without COVID-19.
Fiorentina announced their coach Cesare Prandelli tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating, with the playing squad and support staff to go into a "bubble" in accordance with protocol.
Australian Associated Press