The NFL made a big change to its regular-season schedule a few years back, and commissioner Roger Goodell believes there will be another one in the near future.
Goodell spoke about the NFL’s current 17-game schedule during an appearance on Bloomberg TV’s “The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations” this week. He said the league has been pleased with the results since switching from a 16-game regular season with four preseason games to a 17-game regular season with three preseason games. That change was implemented in 2021.
When the NFL and NFL Players Association approved a 17-game schedule, it was viewed as inevitable that an 18-game regular season would come next. Goodell acknowledged that adding another regular-season game and dropping to two preseason games would be the next “logical step.”
“We would keep within that 20-game framework,” the commissioner said. “We went to 16 and four (preseason games), and now 17 and three. So 18 and two is a logical step.”
When the NFL expanded to 17 games in 2021, the change passed by a very narrow margin, with 51.5% of players voting in favor. The current collective bargaining agreement between the NFLPA and NFL runs through 2030, so that has been viewed as a potential target date for expanding two 18 games. However, there has been talk that the NFLPA is open to making it happen sooner.
One star quarterback last year offered an intriguing idea for how the NFL could make an 18-game season more palatable for players.
There are plenty of players who are adamantly opposed to adding another regular-season game. But in the end, the added revenue of another meaningful game will likely be too appealing to turn down.
