NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell just held a press conference with the media. Among the subjects that were covered were the issues that Tom Brady’s pending minority ownership of the Raiders raises regarding his access to teams as he works as a Fox analyst. Goodell also said that tampering probes into the Falcons and the Eagles were ongoing. We can also apparently look forward to private equity ruining the NFL at some point in the near future.
For now, the biggest takeaway was Goodell’s comments on the potential changes to the length of the regular season schedule. Three years ago the league moved from a 16-game schedule to 17 games and another push to 18 games has been anticipated ever since. Goodell says there are no active discussions on that front, but going to 18 regular season games would come with a reduction of the preseason schedule, likely from three to two games.
From NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s presser …
– No vote, but “real progress” on private equity investment in teams. Expect something by end of year.
– Expanding to an 18-game season isn’t an active discussion, but something the league is thinking about in a “long-range…
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 22, 2024
This makes sense and nobody is really in position to complain except retired players who will see their 16-game records being artificially broken more and more often. As far as the NFL is concerned that’s a small price to pay for all the extra revenue that another regular season week would bring in, though.
We may never see it, but it’s not crazy to think some day there may be a 20-game regular season, with no preseason games at all. The simple reasoning is there’s too much money on the table not to expand the regular season as much as possible – and on the flip side there’s the risk that exhibition games pose to that revenue in the form of preseason injuries.
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