At this point in the NFL offseason, league representatives, as well as the players’ union, are looking to negotiate a new labor deal. This year, NFL owners are using these negotiations to revisit making the NFL season longer. This includes giving fans an 18-game NFL season and an expanded playoff field. Owners see a massive benefit in this shift, including a significant revenue boosts, reduced amount of preseason games, and an increase in roster sizes. However, an 18-game NFL season has both benefits and drawbacks.
Injuries, Injuries, And More Injuries
Football is a hard-hitting sport. The 16-game NFL season, as it stands, leads to many banged-up players. In recent years, that list included Alex Smith (compound fracture), Odell Beckham Jr (ankle fracture), Deshaun Watson (torn ACL), and Carson Wentz (stress fracture), among others. Yes, injuries are a given in the sport. But, season-ending injuries can change a team’s entire season. Increasing to an 18-game NFL season would only put more wear and tear onto these athletes’ bodies.
Even with the change to two preseason games, injury is still a concern. Injuries can happen at any time. Evidence of this can be seen in the case of Julian Edelman. Edelman tore his ACL during a 2017 preseason game against the Detroit Lions. Moreso, the owners must also take into account as to how a season expansion can affect their teams in the postseason.
The postseason is the hardest time of the year, both physically and mentally. Players are never 100%. The 16-24 game journey takes a lot out of every player on the roster. Looking at some of the stars in the league, it’s clear they had a tremendous regular season. But, some just gassed out towards what would be the end of their season. Rams RB Todd Gurley is a prime example.
With 1,251 yards last season, Gurley ranked third in the league in rushing yards. To many, Gurley was in the MVP conversation for most of the season. Then came the postseason. Gurley averaged 53.3 yards per game in the playoffs. Although Gurley said he wasn’t injured, it was evident to us all that he was. Last March, it was reported that Gurley has arthritis in his knee. It was worse than the Rams initially thought.
Knowing Gurley is one of the league’s biggest stars, other owners should take notice. An 18-game NFL season only increases the risk of injury for players. The rules are still the same. Even though great measures have been taken in the past to make the game safer, injuries happen all the time. In terms of the postseason, the owners are also looking to give only one team a bye to the divisional playoff. This also means that two fewer teams have the chance to recover and ice their wounds after what would be a gruesome 18-game NFL season. All signs point to more games equaling more injuries – something that rule changes in the past have looked to prevent.
Winning Means Less
Teams earn their way into the playoffs. With the current playoff format, 12 of the league’s 32 teams make the postseason. That’s 38% of the league. The owners, on the other hand, want 14 teams to participate in the postseason. You can assume that the owners who advocated for this have teams who can never snag a top-three seed in their respective conference. Bumping the percentage up to 44% takes away from the excitement of the game.
Last season’s Week 17 Ravens-Browns and Steelers-Bengals matchups were special because, on the last day of the regular season, the fate of two AFC threats were at stake. The Steelers ended up missing the playoffs, but to many, they were deserving of being in the postseason. For the league, that’s a positive. It meant that last season, there were so many elite and deserving teams, that someone had to be left out. The race for that final Wild-Card spot brings excitement to the fans.
If the NFL expands the playoff field, the accomplishment of making the playoffs means somewhat less. These teams, of course, have a chance at the Lombardi Trophy. However, there’s a clear discrepancy between the good and bad teams in the NFL. Fans and media marvel at seeing all of the playoff implications that the final weeks of the regular season bring. Expanding from 12-14 teams takes away that excitement. It’d be too obvious to predict who would or wouldn’t make the playoffs. It’s beneficial to the fans, media, and the league if a “good” team doesn’t make it to the postseason.
Money Over Everything?
To the NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell, money is a huge factor in all decisions. For them to disregard any of the previously mentioned reasons, they have to be making a lot of money.
Overall, this new proposal will consist of two preseason games (I assume), an 18-game regular season, and a playoff format expanding from 12 to 14 teams. What does this mean for Goodell and the NFL? A huge increase in league revenue. More teams will be playing more meaningful games which spark fans into buying tickets for said games. And, for the postseason, more teams obviously means more money coming for the NFL.
If only one team from each conference is getting a first-round bye, this creates more excitement. For me personally, I’m not interested in preseason games because my favorite stars aren’t playing. But, since those last two preseason games would be converted into regular season games, I’m more inclined to watch now.
Amidst all of the drama surrounding Colin Kaepernick and other off-field issues, the NFL has seen their ratings decline. Even though they still make loads of money, expanding the season may bring more fan attention back to the television on Sundays.
Injuries happen, yes, and the value of winning is how you see it, but in the eyes of these NFL executives, they’re trying to make as much money as possible. As Commissioner, it’s Goodell’s job to seek out things that can benefit the league in the long run. Although this proposal was sparked by the owners, the Commissioner may just see this season expansion as a way to bring in more money and not as a way that more players get injured.
For The Fans: More Elite Matchups
For the fans, this proposal can be more beneficial than not. The current NFL scheduling formula goes:
- Six games against divisional opponents — two games per team, one at home and one on the road.
- Four games against teams from a division within the conference — two games at home and two on the road.
- Four games against teams from a division in the other conference — two games at home and two on the road.
- Two games against teams from the two remaining divisions in its own conference — one game at home and one on the road. Matchups are based on division ranking from the previous season.
This formula alone is pretty good for fans. It gives us crucial divisional match-ups, conference championship previews, and in some instances, Super Bowl previews. It’s a treat to fans when we can see the best teams in the league go at it on Sunday Night Football. With the proposed format, this trend will benefit fans even more. Keeping this schedule making format and adding two miscellaneous games presents different paths the league can take.
The NFL can take the route of now guaranteeing a Super Bowl rematch every year. It’ll bring more fan enjoyment for us and more money for them. Along with that, the NFL can go the route of guaranteeing playoff rematches if not scheduled already. Or, the league can cater to the storylines. The Cardinals and Redskins won’t play each other this season. But, with those extra two games, the NFL can use it to give the fans a Kyler Murray-Dwayne Haskins match-up that’d put to bed some of the talk surrounding the two.
Players Need Something In Return
If you’re going to force your athletes to play extra games, you’re going to give them something in return.
Eliminating the Franchise Tag
All players are going to want the franchise tag to be done with if they’re asked to play more games. Players have shown in the past that they don’t want to be tied to a team that won’t meet their demands. Even with the franchise tag maximum being three times for a player, that’s three years of a player’s career gone. In some occurrences, like Le’Veon Bell, it can go as far as simply not playing for the team. The franchise tag basically forces players to return to their team.
Eliminating this in exchange for more games can put the players and team executives on some common ground. No player should be forced to potentially sit out their prime years simply because they weren’t paid enough.
Expanded Rosters
As I alluded to previously, more games equal more injuries. This leaves the need for more players. More roster spots would give teams the opportunity to quickly fill in gaps left by this expansion. With this, there also would be an influx of less-talented players on the field. Nevertheless, more players will have jobs. More players will be making money.
Tying It All Together
It’s unknown as to what the motivation behind this proposal is. The owners that support and oppose this proposal are also unknown. However, what’s certain is that this change may not be coming anytime soon. The current CBA is set to expire after the 2020 season. This means that as of next year, conversations will be sparking regarding new rules to implement throughout the league.
No one knows what will occur between now until then. An 18-game NFL season with 14 teams in the postseason sounds good to some but not to all. For the fans, the league, and the owners, this is a great idea. For the players, however, the most important people, this may be detrimental in more ways than one.