Probably not”inevitable“The NFL expanded the regular season to 18 games. It is inevitable that the NFL will try.
patriots owner robert craft Talk about an 18-game seasonThere are 16 international competitions held every year, with many held in recent months. He is quoted in a new article vanity fair Commissioner Roger Goodell’s profile shows he has expressed a clear desire to expand the season and include non-U.S. games.
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“In our new labor agreement, I hope we can play 18 games and two pre-season games and then if we do that we’ll hopefully play 16 internationals so we’ll get every team playing one international a year and that will be built primarily through streaming audiences,” Craft told Lachlan Cartwright vanity fair.
The question is when a new collective bargaining agreement will be finalized. If the current agreement expires in March 2031, the NFL could, if not likely, lock players in until they agree to adjustments to the season.
That makes it arguably prudent for players to agree to play 18 games earlier, especially since each season that includes an 18th game will bring in more revenue — especially if a second bye extends the regular season to 20 weeks and adds 10 total broadcast windows.
Until the NFL sets a specific date for Super Bowl 62 in Atlanta, the door remains open for an 18th game in 2027. It may not be easy to achieve, but the league hasn’t thrown in the towel yet. If so, the Super Bowl in Atlanta would be locked in for February 13, 2028, the obvious game date under the current 17-game format with one bye.
