The NFL has had a notable offseason. Now, spring meetings are taking place and organized team activities are starting.
However, there are bigger topics in the league generating discussion. One of those topics is the future of the NFL schedule. Recent comments from the spring meetings reveal that we could be headed toward an 18-game schedule.
NFL Owners Believe There Is a “Good Trade” With 18-Game Schedule
NFL Super Bowl LVII Kansas City Chiefs Vs Philadelphia Eagles
Earlier this afternoon, Commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about a potential 18-game schedule. Goodell admitted that this subject has generated discussion amongst owners and executives. In the end, Goodell is confident that an 18-game schedule offers more pros than cons:
“We think that’s a good trade: less preseason games and more regular season games.”
-Roger Goodell
Goodell Believes Fans Want More Football
When asked to elaborate more on this topic, Goodell went on to say that the goal of an 18-game schedule is to give the fans what they want. He believes that the fans would like to have more competitive football games and fewer preseason games:
“We’re doing everything possible to give the fans what they want. And they want, obviously, more football. I’m not sure they want more preseason football.”
-Roger Goodell
History of Schedule Expansion
This is far from the first time that the NFL has decided to expand its schedule. However, this would be a very quick expansion compared to the other times in league history when the schedule was expanded.
Up until 1960, NFL teams played 12 games in the regular season. However, thanks to the emergence of the AFL, the lead expanded the schedule to 14 games for the 1961 season.
This schedule lasted up until the 1977 season. Then, the NFL expanded its schedule to 16 games for the 1978 season. This schedule lasted for 43 years until the league decided to expand its schedule to 17 games for the 2021 season.
Has the extra regular season game made the NFL more money? Statistics would argue yes once the league had proper time to recover from the pandemic.
In 2019, the estimated NFL revenue was around $16 billion. Last season, the estimated revenue was estimated to be close to $20 billion. With more streaming services and more countries getting involved with NFL games, having an 18th from each team to choose from may allow the NFL to see even more increased revenue moving forward.
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