NEW ORLEANS- The New Orleans Saints have canceled the team's four preseason games following discussions and resolutions between the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association.

The cancellation of the preseason will allow the Saints organization additional lead-up time to prepare and provide proper safety protocols for the restart of the NFL season. 

"The decisions reached by the NFL and NFLPA came after careful and thoughtful consideration and are consistent with the Saints' philosophy that the health and safety of our fans, players and staff is the primary driving force," the team released in a statement Friday.

The NFL has announced that they will not be issuing any uniform guidelines regarding stadium capacity or a minimum or maximum number of fans; it will allow each team to make that determination, based on local guidelines and restrictions and CDC recommendations. However, the NFL has mandated that if fans do attend games this season they must wear face coverings.

While many variations of safe stadium capacity continue to be discussed, the Saints continue to plan for its 2020 regular season games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The team asks fans to stay on course with necessary precautions as recommended by health officials to stay safe through all facets of their daily lives.

New Orleans Saints Season Ticket Holders will continue to be given the opportunity to choose to receive a refund or to apply payments as a credit toward next year's season tickets. The Saints will be following up with Season Ticket Holders with more information on our regular season policies and available credit options as soon as they are finalized.

In the meantime, all resale and transfer transactions for the 2020 season are canceled.

In addition, the team reminds fans that unfortunately, the 2020 Saints training camp will be closed to fans.