Roger Goodell Admits NFL is Pushing for 18-Game Schedule
Ever since the NFL went to a 17-game regular season schedule in 2021, it’s been obvious that the odd-numbered calendar was an intermediary step toward the league pushing for an 18-game slate instead.
Now, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is acknowledging the obvious. In an appearance on Bloomberg TV that was released on Friday, Goodell said that an 18-game schedule is the logical next step for the league.
“I think if we continue to focus on the safety, I think 18 is a potential,” Goodell said. “As you know, we would take a preseason game away. We would keep within that 20-game framework. We actually started at 14 and six preseason. We went to 16 and four, and now 17 and three. So 18 and two is a logical step. But we would only do that with the players.”
The NFLPA would have to approve such a change, and it would take a re-opening of the collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league in order to make an 18-game schedule happen. The current CBA is not set to expire until March 2031.
The NFL played a 12-game schedule from 1947 to 1960, moved to 14 games from 1961-77 and played 16 games from 1978-2020.
Beside the last four seasons, the only other times the league has had an odd number of games on the docket strike-shortened 1982 and 1987 seasons, and an 11-game schedule before and after World War II, from 1937-42 and again in 1946.
In the interview, Goodell also said that the NFL hopes to get to 16 international games in the next few years, which would double the current amount. The Steelers are expected to host their first international game in Ireland this fall.
