NFL Plans On Increasing The Schedule To 18 Regular Season Games

Since it became evident that the 2011 lockout was unavoidable, at least, the NFL has been facing an 18-game regular season. The league, and more especially the club owners, typically gets their way.

NFL Plans On Increasing The Schedule To 18 Regular Season Games

Before the lockout, the income split was 50/50 with the players; however, since then, the owners have received a larger portion. The 2020 CBA gave rise to the enlarged playoffs and a 17-game regular season.

The NFL has backed off from testing for marijuana, even though the players no longer receive the same share of the pie. The NFL and club owners have been considering it for a while, but they weren’t going to take any action without first receiving some kind of concession from the players.

Despite opposition to adding a 17th game for the 2021 season, there are rumors that the NFL is moving forward with plans for even further expansion. There is cause for concern over the possible effects on player welfare, leading many to doubt the league’s goals.

Team officials’ recent conversations provide insight into the NFL’s plans. General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry, disclosed plans to extend the trade deadline by 14 days, indicating that it was necessary to account for the extra game week and making hints about potential future expansion.

Mike Florio claims that the NFL “hasn’t abandoned” its quest for 18 regular-season games. The Browns general manager Andrew Berry said that Cleveland and other clubs are “proposing a delay of the trade deadline by 14 days, from the Tuesday after Week 8 to the Tuesday after Week 10,” which was the “first hint” of that fact.

According to Berry, the second week “was in anticipation of further expansion of the regular season, to 18 games,” while the first week “was aimed at accounting for the extra week created by the 17th regular-season game.” It seems probable that the switch to an 18-game schedule “won’t come until the next labor deal” in 2030.

In a few years, when the NFL starts negotiating the 2030 CBA, television’s future will be a major topic of conversation. Adding an additional regular-season game is the most surefire method to maintain a significant boost in income, assuming the league remains as popular as it was in 2023 (let’s hope for TayTrav’s future).

The gamers will be offered the expansion as additional chances to win. Even though the NFL is expected to be America’s most reliable broadcast program for the next 10 years, its television rights will still cost more for 18 regular-season weeks than for 17.

When it was “obvious that the league wanted an extra game badly enough to lock out the players, like the NFL did in 2011,” it was “likely that the league will have the same determination then that it had four years ago.”

It is another weekend of TV windows, which means “another weekend of TV money” and “more stuff on which folks can bet,” according to Florio, who added that the NFL “has good reasons to increase inventory.” “Whether the league will eventually, if not inevitably, try to go with 20 games and no preseason” will then be the question.

Red flags are raised by this, though, as some contend that player safety shouldn’t be compromised in order to maximize profits. Players who play more games may make more money, but they run a higher chance of getting hurt and suffering long-term health effects.

Quarterbacks include Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Deshaun Watson, and Anthony Richardson have all lost a considerable amount of time already this year alone. More regular-season games might bring in more money for the NFL, but if backup quarterbacks like Zach Wilson, Jake Browning, Easton Stick, and others are the ones playing them most of the time, how interesting are those extra games?

Will NFL coaches finally do the math, determine that it’s worth it to give great players like Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes an additional game off midway through an extended regular season in order to keep them healthy for the postseason, and spark an NBA load management controversy?

The NFL is under increasing pressure to put its players’ welfare first, and this puts its credibility on the player safety problem in jeopardy.

Proposals include an early season start, longer training camps, and one additional week off to allow for recuperation. Such adjustments might improve the overall quality of the game and allay worries about player safety.

Goodell established an NFL revenue target of $25 billion by 2027 in 2010. It is projected that the 2022 season brought in close to $20 billion. The most watched Super Bowl in history was the one won by the Kansas City Chiefs in the season’s penultimate game in February 2024. Instead of declining, interest in the NFL is growing.

For this reason, while the CBA is being negotiated, the players ought to put up a fierce fight against the NFL. Less than 1,700 players make up the league, as far as I know. Players on the practice squad make less money than Joe Burrow does. However, the players must eventually choose a decision.

Although the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) isn’t set to expire until 2030, talks may go more quickly given the league’s desire to grow. With their increased power, players are prepared to press club owners for compromises in order to protect their interests.

The argument for an eighteenth game is becoming more heated as the NFL attempts to strike a careful balance between player safety and profits. Professional football’s future will definitely be shaped by how this controversial subject is resolved, which will compel all parties involved to address the core principles of the game.

 

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