After years of this subject lingering, the NFL is no longer pushing an 18-game season. Instead, they’ve shifted focus to a 17-game proposal, Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reports (subscription required).
Proposals for an outright 18-game schedule, and the convoluted idea about an 18-game slate with a 16-game cap for players, have not necessarily been shelved. But with ownership support for 18 games not as widespread as it appeared to be, and the NFLPA remained staunchly opposed to it, it’s been effectively moved to the back-burner, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports (Twitter links).
Part of the 17-game proposal would be a one- or two-game reduction in the preseason schedule, per Kaplan. A three-game preseason schedule is the most likely course of action, per Maske (on Twitter).
Packers president Mark Murphy floated the 17-game idea over the summer. The concept included eight home games, eight road games and one neutral-site contest. The league has five neutral-site games scheduled this season — four in England, one in Mexico City — so ballooning that to 16 would be a notable change. It’s unclear if that component is still being discussed, but it would likely need to be in play to prevent some teams from having nine home games and others not.
Another item that remains in play: expanding the playoff field to seven teams per conference. The NFL has used six-team brackets since 1990 but has seen the league grow by four teams since that format was implemented. The NFLPA is also opposed to this idea, Kaplan adds, but Maske tweets a 14-team playoff field being thrown into the mix is a “strong” possibility. The 12-team setup has lasted longer than either the four- or five-team fields the NFL previously used since the 1970 merger.
No additional CBA talks have been scheduled; they are expected to resume later this year or at 2020’s outset. It’s a good bet the 17-game season and seven-team playoff prospects will be talking points when they resume. The current CBA expires after the 2020 season.
Unfortunately for the NFLPA the players want access to pot. The NFL knows it and has them over a barrel as a result.
If that were the case then the nflpa wouldn’t oppose it. Do you know what they even do??
Pot
How is a 5 team playoff field even set up? No way that’s a fair system
Back when there were only three divisions. Division champs got bye to second round and the two wild card teams played to advance to play the one seed.
One team getting a bye instead of two plus one extra playoff game (more money!) seems like a win win. I don’t understand the NFLPA’S objection.
Why am I not surprised this idiotic idea is coming from the Packers? No doubt Murphy will be pushing for their neutral site game to be played in Milwaukee.
If the players are all about safety as is the NFL (or so they say), they should try to eliminate Thursday games.
Thank you for saying it. Thurs night games are dull. I don’t know how coaches can gameplan in such a narrow window
I don’t especially care for the neutral site games, but eliminating two meaningless preseason games in favor of adding an extra regular season game seems to make sense in terms of player safety and fan interest. So I could live with it. Plus it’d balance out the schedule for teams that essentially lose a home game now off their schedule because they’re labeled the “home” team in a neutral site game.
I’m not a fan of watering down the playoff field, though. Leave it as it is.