An 18-game season appears to be in the future for the NFL

The NFL is looking ahead, and one significant change floated in a Roger Goodell news conference from the Spring Meeting in Nashville is an 18-game season.

The commissioner of the NFL says three factors will determine if the league will again increase its slate: player safety, collaboration with the players’ association, and the overall quality of the game.

While an 18-game season may mean a Presidents Day Super Bowl giving everyone a Monday holiday to recover for their parties, it might not be a win for Denver Broncos fans who want to see their team play at home another time per season. The Adam Schefter podcast dropped this nugget Wednesday morning,  “I think we’re going to eventually have one international game for every team, per year.”

The NFL will likely have a pretty easy time clearing their hurdles. They easily went from 16 games to 17 despite player safety concerns and the NFLPA will want the additional money from another game. Moreover, quality concerns will likely be backburnered by fiscal gain.

“The key thing for us is looking at making sure we continue to do the things that make our game safer. So we want to make sure that that hits the first boundary,” Goodell said. “17 games is a long season, so we want to make sure we look at that and make sure that we continue the safety efforts. You’ve seen a lot of the outcomes of that: kickoffs are a good example of that, the hip drop. So we’re going to continue to do that. That’s No. 1. Working with our players association is No. 2. We would reach an agreement with them if we’re going to proceed on that. But also, third, and this is not necessarily in order, is the quality of our game. We would do it in the context of reducing the number of preseason games. We think that’s a good trade: less preseason games and more regular-season games. I think most anybody would think that was beneficial. But again those other two factors are important.”

New York Giants owner John Mara shared his dissenting opinion to ESPN,” I can’t say I’m necessarily crazy about extending the season. I worry more about player fatigue and wear and tear on the players moving forward. That’s one of the reasons why we have to have the discussion with (the players union).”

Goodell did say the shift from 17 to 18 wouldn’t happen soon. Though future club expansion, more international games, and now schedule expansion are three things fans will have to eye long-term.

“I think I raised it not in the context of… I think I was asked about the idea of playing on Saturday night,” the commish said. “So, the idea of it was really just a reaction to other alternatives to playing on a Saturday night. That’s how it came up. I wasn’t floating something we were actively thinking about. It is something that we think about in a long-range context. Again, moving to quality and making sure that we’re doing everything possible to give the fans what they want. And they want, obviously, more football. I’m not sure they want more preseason football.”

Most fans would want 18 games that count and just two preseason games if given the option, plus a Presidents Day Super Bowl. And who knows, maybe that 18th game will be an international one against one of the teams from the NFL’s expanded global divisional that feels inevitable. Broncos in London to take on the Monarchs or Denver against the Tokyo Stallions for which horse is supreme!

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