The NFL is in a period of rapid growth, and naturally, that growth includes a lot of change. The playoffs begin with a field of 14 rather than 12 now, and the regular season schedule has increased from 16 games to 17.
Now, league commissioner Roger Goodell is letting it be known that another schedule change is coming down the pipeline, according to Bloomberg.
Goodell told Bloomberg in an interview that an 18th regular-season game would be the “logical” next step. Goodell said that the precious expansion of the schedule from 16 to 17 games didn’t increase injuries as many feared, thanks to advances in science and the way players take care of their bodies.
“We would keep within that 20-game framework,” Goodell said on Bloomberg TV. “We went to 16 and four, and now 17 and three. So 18 and two is a logical step,” Goodell said.
The commissioner is referring to the mix of regular-season and preseason games. With the 16-game schedule, there were four preseason games; there are now three, and when the schedule expands again, a similar decrease in preseason games will follow.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Logical step for the NFL is make everyone play their extra game international or one off stadiums to grow the game & give them a bye after that week. Make it a 19 week schedule 2 byes that’s logical for player safety too,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“the logical step is adding a 2nd bye and keeping it at 17 games, since going back to 16 games is not an option,” one fan added.
“can’t do it without an extra bye week built into the schedule and additional changes like expanded rosters,” another fan added.
“2 Bye weeks and roster size increase from 53 to 60 with 3rd QB being a exempt from the roster count,” offered someone else.
“f the NFL were to go to 18 games I believe that would take the Super Bowl to the weekend before Presidents Day which means a lot of people and schools would have Monday off,” another fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see when the changes take place.
