Roger Goodell says NFL expects to have full stadiums for all 32 teams during 2021 season

The league is aiming high for its second season during the pandemic

Not a single NFL team enjoyed full attendance during the 2020 season, the first affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But if all goes according to plan, all 32 clubs will play in front of full stadiums in 2021. That's what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Tuesday, saying that "all of us in the NFL want to see every one of our fans back" come Sept. 9, when the season kicks off.

"Football is simply not the same without the fans," he said, per ProFootballTalk, "and we expect to have full stadiums in the 2021 season."

Goodell met earlier Tuesday with league officials and discussed the possibility of welcoming fans back to every stadium, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. After hosting 1.2 million fans during the 2020 campaign, he opted to take a "strikingly optimistic tone five months away from kickoff."

It remains to be seen if the NFL will be permitted to host full stadiums across the country, as different states offer different restrictions pertaining to COVID-19. With coronavirus vaccines becoming increasingly available nationwide, however, it's clear Goodell and the NFL expect restrictions to be significantly loosened come fall.

The 2021 regular season, the first to include 17 games, is scheduled to run from Sept. 9 through Jan. 9, 2022.