Nothing like a $14.1 billion liability to spur an aggressive effort to increase revenue.
To the surprise of anyone who hasn’t been paying attention to the issue, the NFL and the NFL Players Association have started talking about increasing the regular season from 17 to 18 games.
NFLPA executive Lloyd Howell, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight in his first year on the job, made the announcement at a meeting with the organization. The Washington Post.
“In B.C Very, very, very high level On the surface, with recognition. . . About, ‘Yes, this is something we need to talk about,’” Howell commented Paste. “And we have to really blow the tires and understand what else goes into that decision-making process. Where does the 18th game come from? I think the foregone conclusion is good, you just take it, like, what else could have happened.” [preseason games] In August. You play forward. But these are the details that need to be solved properly. But, again, there are other economic, health and safety issues that need to be clear to our members before an agreement on the 18th Games can be reached.
Indeed there are. The effort to increase the size of the regular season will be an opportunity for the NFLPA to file several potential concessions. Howell specifically mentioned factors such as playing field, offseason program, roster size and practice-squad size.
Still, it all depends on money. Changes to the off-market package could negatively impact revenue, even if the NFL doesn’t attempt to bail on players from its pending $14.1 billion Sunday ticket debt. One way to counter that is to add more games that count.
The NFL has wanted to increase it to 18 games for years. The league eventually changed to 17, with more opportunities for injuries to rookies at a time when player health and safety are difficult to reconcile, as they rarely play in preseason games if they are rotated in regular season games.
The current CBA runs until 2030. Nothing prevents the two parties from reaching a new agreement on any topic at any time.
And it’s only a matter of time before the NFL and NFLPA agree on 18 games.
Then 19.
Finally, 20.