When Are America’s Major Sports Leagues Restarting?

The month of June has brought a lot of good news to sports fans across the country as Major League Baseball, the NBA, and the NFL have all made strides towards salvaging their seasons.

In addition to fans, TV networks, and league owners, sports bettors and select companies in the sports and entertainment world are also eagerly awaiting live sports. For instance, Colorado legal-ized sports betting in May, however, sports bettors at sites like Draftkings Sportsbook in Colorado haven’t had much to watch or bet on. Additionally, sportsbooks and hotels in Vegas have reo-pened but crowds are still small and sportsbooks aren’t too busy – yet.

Needless to say, fans are chomping at the bit for live sports to watch and as we enter into July there is more clarity on when live sports will resume.

NBA

Other than the NFL, the NBA is arguably America’s most popular sports league. In June, the league agreed to restart their 2019-2020 season in Orlando, FL under strict safety protocols, which includes housing teams and their employees on the campus of Walt Disney World.

Furthermore, the league opted to shorten the season and only invite 22 of the 30 teams to play out an abbreviated regular season and full post-season. With that said, everything is on par to kick-off July 30th, with two nationally televised games on TNT. View the full TV schedule for the NBA here.

MLB

The MLB and the MLBPA endured dramatic negotiations but in June both parties agreed to play a 60-game regular season and postseason. It’s a far cry from the traditional 162-game season but fans have to be happy that America’s pastime will resume this summer.

Each team will play 40 league games and 20 interleague games and the DH will be required for all 60 games, which means we won’t see any pitchers in any National League batting lineups.

Currently, Opening Day 2020 is on schedule to start either July 23rd or July 24th. However, the league has yet to confirm the schedule and national TV schedule.

NHL

Nothing is final yet with the NHL but most expect their restart proposal to pass the player’s vote scheduled to happen during the second week of July. If passed, we’ll likely see an abbreviated NHL season resume later this month.

The NHL is seriously considering Toronto and Edmonton as their hub cities, which may prove to be a smart move considering the volatility of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.

Until their restart plan is final, there is no final word on the TV schedule but most believe training camp will start on or before July 13th.

NFL

The NFL experienced the luxury of finishing its season in February right before the coronavirus pandemic. As such, the league has been able to learn from other sports leagues and plan accord-ingly.

As of July, there are no plans to suspend or cancel the NFL season. Also, there hasn’t been any official word on how the season will play out. In other words, it’s not clear if fans will attend, how or where travel will be handled, how players and team officials will be tested, etc.

The good news is the NFL has time as the regular season doesn’t start until September. Fans are fully expecting football Sunday’s to return on Fox, CBS, and NBC in some form or another. Time will tell how the league plans to adapt and structure its 2020-2021 season.