'NFL 2020' Series Looks At The Shape Of Pro Football Things To Come

09.13.2013

While NFL fans are focused on the 2013 season and Super Bowl XLVIII, the NFL is a looking a bit farther down the road. NFL.com, in conjuction with NFL Network, has launched an exclusive eight-part series that examines the future of the NFL and what football will be like on and off the field in 2020. Topics include the health of players, changing rules, fans, the participation of gay players, how science and technology at home and in stadiums will impact the game and the NFL's expansion worldwide.Â

"NFL 2020" is hosted by . It includes input from such current and former NFL players as Ryan Clark, Justin Tuck, Eric Davis, Terrell Davis, Lavar Arrington and Jeff Garcia; Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh; and NFL reporters including Peter King, Armen Keteyian and Sam Farmer.

Executives from a number of global companies currently working on innovative designs and products that could alter pro football also are part of the mix.

The premiere episode, "Look and Feel,"Â was unveiled on Thursday. It included how players will look, how their skill sets would have advanced by 2020 and how openly gay players will acclimate into the league. New Webisodes are scheduled to air on Thursdays through December 19. NFL Network's "NFL AM" will then review each Webisode and "dissect the speculation of what NFL players will be like, physically and mentally, in 2020."

Upcoming Webisodes include: "International Players" (September 26); "Global Game" (October 10); "Analytics and Officiating" (October 24); "Making View" (November 7), which will examine such technology as 360-degree cameras in every NFL helmet and other advanced equipment and monitoring devices; "The Fan Experience" (November 21); "Player Health: Advances in Head Injury Technology" (December 5); and "Culture of the Game" (December 19).

The Web site, which is presented by Samsung Galaxy S4, also includes comparisons between veteran NFL players and younger stars. In one section, second-year are compared to NBA stars, such as Robert Griffin III and John Wall, Russell Wilson and Chris Paul, and Andrew Luck and James Harden.

The hypothesis: "The modern day quarterback is more comparable to athletes in other sports like NBA guards than the standard old quarterback."

FYI: Super Bowl LIV is scheduled for February 2020.

Brief Take:Â With the NFL's recent $765 million settlement over player health, and controversy over the NFL asking ESPN to pull out of a documentary on how receiving repeated concussions are effecting NFL players later in life, the NFL is putting its own spin on where the organization is headed.