NFL commissioner Roger Goodell raised eyebrows during draft weekend when he floated the idea of an 18-game regular season and a shortened preseason — a change that would require a good deal of concessions by NFL owners to convince players to agree.
Such a modification — the increase from 17 to 18 games and reduction from three preseason contests to two — is far from imminent because of wording in the current collective bargaining agreement, which runs through 2030, and because NFL owners and NFL Players Association leaders haven’t even engaged in discussions on the matter, according to two people briefed of the situation. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the premature nature of such discussions.
Goodell, instead, was speaking hypothetically when he commented on the schedule in the interview on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“I think we’re good at 17 (games) now,” Goodell said. “But, listen, we’re looking at how we continue. I’m not a fan of the preseason. … The reality is, I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That’s just picking quality. If we get to 18 and 2, that’s not an unreasonable thing.”
An NFL spokesperson said the league had no further comment on the matter.
It’d be silly to think that an 18-game season isn’t coming at some point, however.
The fact that the commissioner and owners would embrace a move to 18 games comes as no surprise. Dating back to 2011, owners had a desire to extend the season from 16 games to 18. But their efforts proved fruitless during those CBA negotiations. The NFL and players during the 2020 negotiations agreed to the 17-game expansion and reduction from four preseason games to three.
Scoop City Newsletter
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
However, there is strict wording in the current CBA that would prevent an extended regular season before the expiration of this deal.
“The League and/or Clubs shall not increase the number of regular season games per Club to eighteen (18) or more games,” the line in the CBA states. So, to extend the season, the NFL’s owners would have to request a meeting with NFLPA leadership to hold discussions about ripping up the current CBA and hammering out an agreement that allows for the modification of the schedule.
There’s a belief that the players share a strong hesitation about such a move because there was great division among the player ranks about the expansion from 16 to 17 games because of the additional wear and tear to which it would subject their bodies. A number of high-profile veterans opposed the move, however, a slim majority of players — many of them younger and lower-paid by NFL standards — voted to approve the move to a 17-game regular season because of the automatic increase in base salaries that the change triggered.
In exchange for the increase to 17 games, players leveraged their way into a 48.8 percent split of all revenue as well as other concessions, including a reduced offseason practice program and a lightening of punishments for substance abuse policy violations.
“I think we’re good at seventeen games right now but we’re always looking at how we continue..
I’m not a fan of the preseason and I’d replace a preseason game with a regular season game any day” ~ @nflcommish #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Tv8xdjkSXJ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 26, 2024
It’s unclear what the players would demand in exchange for an additional regular season game because, to this point, there have been very few discussions among the player body about such a change, according to a person briefed on the discussions among NFLPA leaders.
It’s expected that an increase in revenue sharing — an increase of at least 50 percent — and a second bye week, as well as additional shortening of the offseason program, would rank among player requests.
While the owners could approach the players about a modification in advance of the current CBA’s expiration, it’s unlikely that the players would readily agree, that source predicted. Because they don’t have to make such a decision, the players could simply slow-play the process until a year or months leading up to the current CBA’s expiration.
New NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell, who assumed his role in June 2023, and new NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who was elected by the players this past March, continually engage with players about how to lobby owners for improved working conditions. So gauging player interest in an 18-game regular season and determining the players’ best bargaining chips will likely rank among their top priorities if the NFL does approach the union about discussion regarding expansion within the next year or two.
Required reading
(Photo: John Smolek / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
2024-05-01 02:39:38
#Roger #Goodells #hypothetical #talks #NFL #owners #union #18game #schedule #Sources
