NFL Misses Chance To Improve Season With an Eighteenth Game

I don’t fault the NFL’s Player Association for coming out against the idea of an eighteenth game. Or at the very least, making it clear that it doesn’t have support from the players at this time. It’s no small thing, to add another grueling three hour clash on the tail end of seventeen other grueling three hour clashes. For these players, it feels like a matter of life and death.

According to Brooke Pryor of ESPN, in an article published on Tuesday, the NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement doesn’t expire until 2031. Any attempt to add a game before then will require the agreement of the NFLPA, and odds are good that getting it during the next round of negotiations even after 2031 will require some concessions from the league.

So, it seems like we’re a ways away from getting that eighteenth game, despite New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft suggesting otherwise on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Monday. According to him, there is a massive push to replace one preseason game with a regular season one, and then get sixteen international games going throughout the year.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin, NFLPA President, pumped the brakes on this, saying that no discussions of an eighteenth game have been conducted, and Roger Goodell seemed to echo that at a news conference. I don’t expect it to happen until the new CBA in five years. But I believe this is something that should happen, for the betterment of the league.

Even if we ignore how obviously superior even numbers are to odd numbers, eighteen games makes plenty of sense in my book. By Kraft’s own admission, the new game would come with the elimination of a preseason game, so it’s not as if it’ll be willed out of nothing. Would such a swap really make that big of a difference on the injury front?

Especially if you package the additional game with a couple other additions. Like, the addition of a second bye week for every team, and unlocking a handful of additional roster spots. The players get more recovery time during the season, and the league gets two extra weeks of football a year. I call that a win-win. Throw a third win in there if you include the fans.

The extra roster spots would permit some additional opportunities to rotate players during games. Call it load management. Teams that are able to get quality reps from their backups in crucial moments get rewarded. It all adds up to me. And hopefully, when the time comes, the league and players can make it add up to them.

Kraft sounds very excited about another regular season game, but he may need to pump the brakes. — New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (left) with son and Patriots president Jonathan Kraft during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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