NFL owners discussing massive shift in regular season schedule at league meetings

The Washington Commanders may soon play another regular-season game if ownership talks go that way at the league meetings this week.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris in attendance of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PALM BEACH, Fl. -- Could you soon see an 18th game added to the Washington Commanders' regular season schedule?

The idea isn't all that new, and in fact, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has even spoken about the Commanders and all the other teams in the league adding an 18th game to the schedule as almost a certainty, not just a thought.

At the NFL League Meetings this week in Palm Beach, that topic, along with many others, will be on the table for Washington managing partner Josh Harris and all of the other team owners from around the league, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

"Charles Robinson reports that Roger Goodell and NFL owners will discuss the possibility of adding an 18th game to the regular season at next week's NFL Owners Meetings," the outlet reported.

Commanders' running back Austin Ekeler has spoken out publicly against the idea of adding an 18th regular-season game. In his comments, he also seems a bit annoyed at best about the topic being discussed as an inevitability and says that players don't want that, so it isn't going to be as easy as the owners think it will be.

Of course, typically these things get wrapped up in a give and take where the players, represented by the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA), get something in return. Perhaps in the form of more money, or other benefits to the players.

The NFL certainly seems determined to add an 18th game to the schedule at some point in the relatively near future, and usually what the league wants, it gets.

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