Just a bit over three years after the NFL instituted a 17-game common season schedule, there’s been loads of speak about including an 18th recreation sooner or later.
And this week, commissioner Roger Goodell stated an 18th recreation is a “possibility” and he understands followers need extra soccer.
The NFL Gamers Affiliation, nonetheless, feels otherwise.
Government director Lloyd Howell Jr. advised reporters on Wednesday from New Orleans that the stance of the gamers is kind of completely different, and that they don’t favor including extra recreation motion to the common season.
“No one wants to play an 18th game. No one,” Howell stated. “Seventeen games is already, for many of the guys, too long. Seventeen games is also so lengthy that you’re still dealing with injuries going into the next season. So, there are a variety of issues that hang off of the length of the season before any formal negotiations.”
The present collective bargaining settlement expires after the 2030 season, and adjustments — together with tweaks to the present CBA — would should be accepted by each the league and gamers.
Goodell’s feedback within the lead-up to Tremendous Bowl 2025 echo issues he stated within the spring about the opportunity of including an 18th recreation.
He stated then {that a} potential change would imply much less preseason soccer, which has already been diminished from 4 video games to a few.
“We would do it in the context of reducing the number of preseason games. We think that’s a good trade: less preseason games and more regular-season games,” Goodell stated in Might, including that the league would proceed to work with the gamers’ affiliation.
Howell stated Wednesday that any discussions the 2 sides have had have been casual and there are many issues that should be hashed out, together with security considerations, worldwide journey and bye weeks.
“No matter what Roger says, you open up that CBA and we’re going to get into field surfaces, we’re going to get into safety, we’re going to get into a lot of things,” Howell stated.
The NFL first expanded the schedule in 1978 from 14 to 16 video games, the quantity that held till 2021.
