The trade deadline lands the Tuesday after Week Eight. This year, the Tuesday after Week Eight lands on Election Day.
Despite the NFL’s unprecedented focus on voting, which includes a decision to close league and team facilities, the NFL won’t be moving its trade deadline from the day set aside for most in-person voting.
Via Sports Business Daily, the NFL sent a memo to all teams “laying out the procedures for closing all the club and league facilities for Election Day.” However, Election Day will continue to be the last day for trades.
Beyond the optics, there’s really no reason to move it. Tuesday is the traditional day off for players, and the league will limit the Election Day work force of teams to “certain essential personnel.” Employees who will be working on the day of the deadline can vote early. Alternatively, they can leave to vote after the window for trades closes at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Yes, in theory, the deadline could be moved by a day. Wednesday, however, is the busiest in-season workday of the week (other than game day). Also, the COVID-19 protocol makes it important to get any new players into and through testing so that they can have a chance to play on Sunday.