A new report provided a significant update on the NFL schedule potentially getting expanded to 18 games, and fans aren’t on board with it.
Though the NFL schedule was expanded to 17 regular season games in the 2021 season, that apparently wasn’t enough to please owners. Whispers about expanding the schedule to 18 games have been ongoing for a while, and it appears that the owners and league office are gaining traction on that front.
Speaking to league and NFLPA sources, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported that there’s widespread belief that the owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell “will begin to make more assertive efforts at adding an 18th game to the NFL’s regular season starting this summer.”
A pair of team executives also told Robinson they expect discussions “will intensify at next week’s spring meetings in Florida.”
Needless to say, fans aren’t exactly on board with the idea of an 18-game NFL schedule.
“The players don’t want it, the coaches don’t want it, and the fans don’t want it,” one fan said.
“They’re using the players like work horses and then putting them down when they break a leg,” said another.
“They need to add another bye week if they want to do this,” a fan wrote.
“NO,” said another.
“I never want to hear the @NFL talk about player safety again. They don’t care about player health in any way shape or form,” wrote a user.
“No need to make it worse for injuries and watching backups play,” wrote another.
At the end of the day, more games mean more money for the players, owners and league office. But player safety will be the main concern and priority for the NFLPA, so by no means is an 18-game schedule a guarantee to happen.
A History Of The NFL Schedule Format
The NFL had a 12-game regular season schedule from 1947 to 1960 before expanding to 14 games in 1961. The 14-game format would stay in place through the 1977 season, before the league moved it to a 16-game schedule.
The 16-game format stayed in place through the 2020 season before it was expanded to 17 games in 2021, with the league adding an extra NFC vs. AFC matchup.
