There may be seismic changes coming to ‘America’s Game’. There are pros and cons to this, but the NFL and its players may be moving closer to adding an 18th regular season game, potentially before their current collective bargaining agreement runs out.
NFL players union chief Lloyd Howell informed the Washington Post on Monday that while the two parties have not held any formal negotiations regarding the matter, there have been discussions “at a very, very, very high level superficially.”
Howell mentioned several factors that will play a key part in the negotiations, which include the economic, health and safety concerns regarding an 18th game. They will be addressed in his upcoming meetings with players.
Under the current CBA, which expires after the 2030 season, the league cannot add another regular-season game to the schedule without the permission and approval of the Players Association. However, Howell said that would not stop or halt a schedule change from going into effect sooner if both sides can come to an agreement.
Embed from Getty Images“The simple fact of the matter is when you have a growing enterprise and there are opportunities within that intervening period of time where progress could be made and you could tweak the existing CBA legal document, why wouldn’t you want to do that?” Howell said. “So, whether it’s field surface, whether it’s the (offseason) schedule, if you want to call that formal — I call it bargaining. I call it amendments. I call it updates to what is now a living document called a CBA.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has already made his feeling know by going on the record in favor of adding an 18th game to the schedule. By extending the regular season another week, it could allow the league to have Super Bowl weekend align with Presidents’ Day weekend, which means a lion’s share of fans would have the Monday after the game off.
Howell did not go in to detail what concessions the players might want in return for putting their bodies on the line and approving an 18th game. However, one of the faces of the league, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has on multiple occasions suggested a second bye week for each NFL team would be an integral part of making an expanded schedule feasible for the players.
The NFLPA had significant reservations but reluctantly agreed to the expansion from 16 to 17 games in 2021, a hot button issue among players that ultimately passed by the slimmest of margins, with 51.5% of players voting in favor.
Several prominent players, including four-time MVP New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, publicly denounced the idea of a 17-game schedule in 2021, and Howell acknowledged that he has his work cut out for him in order to gain widespread NFLPA support for an 18th game.
