NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday hinted at a substantial potential change to playoff seeding relating to division champions.
The Detroit Lions proposed a rule change to playoff seeding that would allow Wild Card teams to be seeded above division winners if they had a better record. A vote on the proposal was tabled on Tuesday, and Goodell hinted at a potential compromise proposal.
Goodell said there was support for “some version” of the Lions’ proposal, but noted that teams had concern about the lack of a benefit from winning the division. The commissioner hinted at a proposal that could see division winners penalized by not getting a home playoff game if they finish with a sub-.500 record.
Goodell says the #Lions’ proposal to seed by record, not by division winner, is a “healthy” proposal and there is support for “some version of this” but also “a strong point of view from many winning the division.” Notes the notion of penalizing sub-.500 division winners has…
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 1, 2025
It is not common for a team to win a division title with a sub-.500 record, but it has happened. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South with an 8-9 record in 2022, while the Washington Commanders won the NFC East in 2020 despite going 7-9.
The most prominent example of this is the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, who won the NFC West at 7-9 and then won the famous “Beast Quake” playoff game at home against the New Orleans Saints.
The Lions’ original proposal actually stemmed from this year’s NFC North race, which saw the Vikings get stuck with a Wild Card bid and a road playoff game despite going 14-3. That prompted some calls for the league to re-assess playoff seeding. This compromise idea would not actually have changed anything in 2024, but it is a step in the right direction.
