An NFL agent has informed SNY's Ralph Vacchiano that NFL teams are "already signaling" that pay cuts will be asked for from the players if games are played without fans during the 2020 season.

In his latest article that addresses the big questions surrounding the potential delay for the start of the season, Vacchiano reached out to sources regarding monetary issues that could arise like it has elsewhere, especially in Major League Baseball.

And yes, that could very well be a fight the NFL and NFLPA will have to go through, too. Here's what Vacchiano wrote:

Oh no, money will be an issue. A big one. One NFL agent told me teams are already signaling that they'll have to ask for concessions if -- and this is still an "if" -- games are played without fans. The loss of revenue for the NFL could be massive -- possibly $5.5 billion, according to Forbes. The catch phrase is '"share the pain," the agent said.

Now there is some optimism the NFL won't have to play games without fans. For the Jets and Giants, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that there's a possibility fans can still be in the stands at MetLife Stadium this upcoming year. It's hard to fathom, but until it's set in stone, the thought still is that it can happen.

The players may want that to be the case, depending on health concerns, considering the league could move toward asking for a pay cut. But here's where things are different between MLB and the NFL: the length of play is a load shorter. Careers don't always last in the NFL compared to other leagues due to the risk each player takes when they put their helmets on. So, though there might be a pay cut for the highest-paid players all the way down to those making the league minimum, one NFL agent believes that players will still want to play because they know how short their career could be.

"For some of my guys, this might be the only year they ever play in the NFL," the agent said. "You want me to tell them to sit it out because they'll only make $400,000 instead of $610,000 (the new NFL rookie minimum). How am I supposed to do that?"

There is also the NFL salary cap to worry about. Revenue for the league and the salary cap are one in the same. With losses estimated at $5.5 billion, that would greatly affect the salary cap for next season, which in turn would lead to tough roster decisions for GMs and headaches for players set to become free agents.

Vacchiano said discussions have taken place already to combat these potential losses, with "borrowing" from future caps among them.

Luckily, the NFL has time on its side to see how the other leagues deal with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Training camps don't start until late July, and the NFL has already been going through precautions just in case its season is affected greatly by the virus.

Money will be one of those issues if fans can't make it into the stands without health risk. Will the NFL and NFLPA let it disrupt the start of the season is the main question -- if that comes to happen.

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