NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told the The Washington Post he has begun having “high level” discussions with the NFL about potentially adding a 18th game to the regular season schedule. Howell says he still needs to discuss the controversial issue with players, as well as better understand the union’s collective priorities, from guaranteed annual compensation to field surfaces. This major change could come before the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season.
But this makes it clear that owners are getting closer to achieving what they’ve wanted for nearly two decades.
“It’s the league’s constant need to generate more and more revenue,” former NFLPA president Domonique Foxworth said in an interview. “And there’s no easier way than to sell another week of football.”
Foxworth, who held multiple positions with the NFLPA before becoming president, remembers when the pitch was floated back in 2008 when NFL owners opted out early from the 2006 CBA. The former cornerback says it was a nonstarter at the time, especially as more studies about concussion prevalence surfaced. But as team and league revenues have drastically increased, the opportunity to earn some extra money while getting another game to hit contract incentives isn’t easy for every player to turn down despite injury risk. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a player who wants to add more labor, but the chance to increase the league-minimum salary is attractive to some, even if it means more bumps and bruises.
The addition of the 17th regular season game was reluctantly approved as the 2020 CBA ratification only passed by 60 votes (1,019 to 959). In turn for playing an extra week, the players received a bump in their share of the league’s revenue, from 47% to 48.5%. It’s unclear what the bump would be this time, but players would certainly listen to pitches.
“It just depends on your goals and what you’re trying to do,” former NFLPA president Eric Winston said in an interview about players weighing the chance to cash in on more of the league’s revenue.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell already stated back in April that he’s in favor of regular-season schedule expansion and potentially eliminating a preseason game. Some of the league’s top stars, including Bengals QB Joe Burrow and 49ers tight end George Kittle, have already said they’re OK with 18 games but want to add a second bye week. Other NFL players took to social media on Tuesday to express their displeasure about potentially adding an 18th game. It echoes the same frustration that other players, including high-profile players such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, had in 2021 when the 17th game was added.
These discussions are developing just a few years after the league inked major long-term media rights deals worth more than $105 billion. Winston says it’s likely that these agreements came with clauses that included financial adjustment in the advent of another regular season game was added to the schedule.
While the league has obvious leverage, the additional game negotiations ultimately come down to what the players are willing to push back on as a unit.
“The players can get whatever they want with collective action and sacrifice,” Foxworth said.
