Last month, PFT reported that there’s still a sentiment in the NFL in favor of an 18-game regular season. Today, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke in favor of the idea.
In an interview with Pat McAfee, Goodell said he would prefer a schedule of 18 regular-season games and two preseason games, rather than the current format of 17 regular-season games and three preseason games, which in turn replaced the old format of 16 regular-season games and four preseason games.
“I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day,” Goodell said. “If we got to 18 and two, that’s not an unreasonable thing.”
Goodell noted that making the regular season a week longer would push the Super Bowl a week later, which most years would make it played on Presidents’ Day weekend, giving many workers the day off on the Monday after the Super Bowl.
“That ends up on Presidents’ Day weekend, which is a three-day weekend, which makes the Sunday night, and then you have Monday off,” Goodell said.
Of course, adding another game for all 32 teams is also guaranteed to add injuries, which will lead to accusations of hypocrisy, given how often the NFL talks about its concerns over player safety. But if an 18th game brings in more money, which is split between the owners and the players, the players’ union may endorse the change on the grounds that the added player salaries are worth the added risks.
So don’t be surprised if an 18-game season arrives soon, with the Super Bowl a week later into February and Presidents’ Day becoming known as the day to nurse Super Bowl hangovers.
