67 NFL players have opted out of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, with athletes only allowed to withdraw if “a close family member gets seriously sick with COVID or if they themselves are newly diagnosed with a high-risk condition.” Team hit the hardest?

The New England Patriots. A grand total of eight players will not be playing in the fall, and that is after Tom Brady took his talent to Tampa.

At the NCAA level, UConn became the first major college football team to abandon its 2020 season outright, and the prospect of more cancellations could ding U.S. broadcasters like ABC/ESPN  (NYSE:DIS), CBS  (NASDAQ:VIAC), NBC  (NASDAQ:CMCSA)  and Fox  (NASDAQ:FOXA).

This is one of the unique ways sports executives and leagues are filling the void in the stands created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo by  Christian Fregnan  on  Unsplash