The NFL has only run three seventeen game seasons, but the addition of an eighteenth game may yet be on the way. According to many, there is a continued feeling that the NFL may seek to add an eighteenth game to a schedule that many call already too bloated. This would not happen until the 2031 Collective Barganing Agreement is up for discussion.
19 Week Seasons In The Cards?
You better believe it. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk had this to say about a statement from Browns GM Andrew Berry on the ProFootballTalk Podcast:
The first hint of it came when Browns G.M. Andrew Berry explained on PFT Live that Cleveland and other teams are proposing a delay of the trade deadline by 14 days, from the Tuesday after Week 8 to the Tuesday after Week 10. Berry said that one week was aimed at accounting for the extra week created by the 17th regular-season game — and that the second week was in anticipation of further expansion of the regular season, to 18 games.
As it stands, the NFL season starts the Sunday after Labor Day, and the Super Bowl happens in mid-February. Should this plan come to pass, the season may extend deeper into February. This comes as the NFL has just announced another new International game just after the announcement of a game to be held in Brazil in 2024.
The Players’ Pain….
JOHN BAZEMORE / ASSOCIATED PRESS
There have now been three completed seventeen game seasons, plus the full postseasons that followed. While the data we have in hand, plus the data gained from the controversies surrounding artificial turf, have actually shown that to some extent, injuries indeed are on the rise in the NFL.
In just the 2023-2024 NFL season alone, many key stars, including Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence missed important games for their clubs, ultimately causing them to miss the playoffs altogether.
Is The League’s Gain
There is little denying how much the league likes to chase revenue. Taylor Swift’s much publicized relationship with Travis Kelce provided a tremendous boon for its bottom line.
Tactics like expanding to the 18th game would provide an even deeper potential revenue spike for the league on the whole, much like the massive boost to the salary cap felt around the 32 clubs during this offseason. Swift’s continued involvement with the Kansas City Chiefs will also only further offer a boon to the league’s bottom line, and pave the way for the inevitable 18th game of seasons going forward.
In The End, How Can Players Fight Back?
The 2020-ratified Collective Bargaining Agreement will be up for discussion once again in 2031. If current president of the NFLPA, JC Tretter, is to remain President to 2031, he may have to lead the players in another lockout or strike against the league.
And at that point, who knows what might be in the cards. An eighteenth game, or the first instance of the NFL cancelling an entire season to a labor dispute.
