What would be the long-term effects if Matthew Stafford opted out?

The Detroit Lions Matthew Stafford is back in the fold. But what would be the long-term effects for this franchise if he opted out?

There was a time the Detroit Lions like every other professional sports franchise did nothing more than submit players to random testing to be sure they were clean of illegal substances or performance-enhancing drugs. Now all players in all sports are tested on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, under the current circumstances that surround the entire world, it has become the only way sports could resume. Yet there are those athletes out there that still endanger themselves, their families, teammates, and the games by deciding they just have to go out and socialize.

It’s unfortunate because it harms entire leagues and the fans who have been starved for the competition to begin again. Just look at the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. The carelessness of a few players is threatening an entire league.

If they aren’t interested in doing their part to keep the games safe, then it would be better for everyone if they just opted out so they would be unable to wreak havoc on an entire league. Then they could go out as much as they wanted if that’s what they truly value.

Now that being said, I’m not blaming every athlete with a positive test. In the NFL, many players have been put on the COVID-19 list because they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. It’s called a precautionary move.

Last week, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was one of the players who tested positive and was put on the COVID-19 list. Unfortunately, as revealed by his wife Kelly on Instagram earlier this week, it was a false positive.

The testing process is not 100 percent accurate and after the positive test, Stafford subsequently had several more tests that all came back negative. With that being the case, Matthew was re-instated to the Lions roster.

Yet, what if in the midst of the world’s current circumstances Stafford took this as a wake-up call and decided to opt out this season? What would be the long-term effects on the franchise?