NEW ORLEANS — If Roger Goodell intends to push to expand the NFL’s regular season to 18 games, he’s going to have to go through the NFL Players Association to do so, and it’s going to be an uphill fight.
The commissioner said earlier this week that the league definitely believes an 18-game regular season “might be a possibility.” But NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. reiterated Wednesday that any changes to the schedule must be negotiated through the Collective Bargaining Agreement and that there have been no formal discussions on the topic.
“When I have talked to the players over the past two seasons, no one wants to play an 18th game. No one,” Howell said at the NFLPA’s annual pre-Super Bowl press conference.
“Seventeen games for a lot of the guys is already too long. So there are a variety of issues that hang off the length of the season before are there any formal negotiations.”
The current CBA allowed for an expansion to 17 games in 2020 along with up to 10 international games per year. The players are still adjusting to the additional game and the toll it takes on the body, much less considering the impact of adding yet another one.
“The thought of 18 games makes me cringe,” Commanders running back and NFLPA vice president Austin Ekeler said. “That 18th game, personally speaking, is really outrageous to me.
“If you’re talking about expanding revenues, there are safer ways to do that. Definitely very heavily against an 18th game.”
Goodell said an 18th game will “come up in the context of the broader CBA issues,” and trumpeted the historical drop in concussion rates this season. But Howell said the topic is a non-starter until other issues are resolved.
That includes potential plans for regular-season games as far away as Australia, and currently issues players have with playing multiple games in a 100-hour span and as many as three games in 10 days — both of which happened this season.
“There are so many dimensions that have off the length of the season,” Howell said. “No one wants to play 18 games. Guys don’t want to play 17.”
“So, should we actually get to a point where we actually engage in negotiations and we open up the CBA, that will be the time to get into all of the parameters above and beyond the length of the season.”
The executive committee declined to speculate on what the league might be able to offer to entice players to consider an 18th game. But they were unanimous in saying their fellow players are united against the concept.
“Honestly guys are saying, ‘no way we’re doing that.’ Everyone sees 18th game and we get a little scared,” NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin said.”I don’t think anyone is in favor of going to 18 games. Guys were against 17, and I know guys are against 18.”
Said NFLPA vice president Case Keenum: “We want to be able to play with our kids in the yard when we’re done doing this.”
Howell said his interpretation is that Goodell is “trying to shape the narrative.” But many other issues need to get addressed and resolved, including the quality and consistency of field surfaces across the league, more data about health and player safety, and the financial incentives for players to put their bodies on the line for another game.
“This is probably not the right time to be talking about adding another game,” he said.
DARIUS SLAYTON NAMED ALAN PAGE COMMUNITY AWARD WINNER
New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton was named the NFLPA’s annual winner of the Alan Page Community Award.
Among his efforts in the community last year, Slayton donated $50,000 to provide gifts and household essentials to 24 New York families around the holidays. And during his six seasons with the Giants, he has donated more than $150,000 to a variety of programs and causes.
“Winning this award means more than words can describe,” Slayton said. “The main goal for me and my family has always been to be able to give back to the people in our communities.
“It’s not about the recognition, but I accept this award with grace and humility. I hope it brings further light to the causes my family and I support.”
–Derek Harper, Field Level Media
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