The NFL is always looking to expand. While league commissioner Roger Goodell has claimed in the past that the league has an interest in that growth coming abroad, with a potential franchise in Europe, he’s recently floated the idea of an 18-game schedule, an increase of one game from the league’s current 17-game model, which has been in place since 2021.
Unfortunately, football is such a physically taxing sport that many people expressed concern that an increase in the number of games played could have a negative impact on the players’ health.
Goodell’s take was that the league has made enough changes to the health and safety protocols that an increase in games would still be safe.
“I think we’ve made enough changes to the game — both the offseason and during the season — from a health and safety standpoint,” the commissioner said in an appearance on They Call it Late Night with Jason Kelce.
According to Pro Football Talk, NFLPA executive director Llyod Howell spoke on Goodell’s comments in a Wednesday press conference.
“Their side hasn’t raised it, we certainly haven’t raised it. . . . Any commentary outside of a formal negotiation is just commentary,” Howell said. “It’s a players decision as to what they will agree to do or not. Right now when I have talked to players over the last two seasons, no one wants to play an 18th game. No one. 17 games, for many of the guys, is too long.”
It’ll be interesting to see how things develop when and if formal negotiations between the league and the Player’s Association begin, but it appears Howell has already started thinking about the concessions he’d need from the league.
“Then we get to the economics,” he said. “If I’m asking my workforce to work more, it’s not as simple as I’m gonna fall back on the revenue split that already exists. . . . There are so many dimensions that hang off the length of the season.”
As great as an extra game in the regular season would be, it’d hardly be worth it if players aren’t healthy enough to compete at the best of their ability.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.