2024 was only the fourth season with a 17-game regular season. If the NFL seemingly has their way, 17 will soon become 18.
The latest tease came Friday when commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about expanding the regular season. Goodell said the league has been happy thus far with the results in terms of not seeing an increase in injuries after changing from 16 regular-season and four preseason games to 17 and three. He then said the next “logical step” would be 18 and two.
“We would keep within that 20-game framework,” Goodell said on Bloomberg TV (via Pro Football Talk). “We went to 16 and four, and now 17 and three. So 18 and two is a logical step.”
The current CBA runs through the 2030 season, but there is a non-zero chance the schedule could expand before then. The current schedule formula calls for 17 games with six divisional games, six additional games within a team’s conference and five games from the opposite conference. While it remains to be seen what an 18-game schedule would look like, it would increase the possibility of more international games.
Currently, the league can schedule up to eight international games. An 18-game season could bring as many as 16 international games. The Lions have not played outside the United States since playing in London in 2015, a 45-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Their last win outside the States came in 2014, a 22-21 win in London over the Atlanta Falcons.
