It’s no secret that NFL team owners want to move to an 18-game regular season as soon as next year, so much so that the league hasn’t yet finalized a date for Super Bowl LXII in February 2028.
It sounds like those owners may be accepting defeat regarding conversations with the NFL Players Association about getting to 18 games as soon as next year.
“Highly unlikely” NFL fans will get an 18-game season anytime soon?
On Monday, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shared that “a source with knowledge of the situation” recently revealed that “it’s highly unlikely the season will expand to 18 games by 2027.”
Per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that runs through the 2030 season, the NFLPA must agree to expanding the campaign by any length. Meanwhile, JC Tretter said shortly after he became the new NFLPA executive director earlier this spring that “the answer is no” for a possible expansion of the regular season.
It’s believed the union could ask for the league to add a second bye week to the schedule, expanded rosters and all-grass fields at stadiums during discussions about adding an extra meaningful game to the calendar. That said, Florio indicated that the two sides aren’t all that close to coming to any agreement this spring.
NFL out of time to expand to 18 games before the 2027 schedule is released?
“With JC Tretter taking over as NFLPA executive director on April 1,” Florio wrote, “there may not be enough time to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement, to arrange a successful vote by the rank and file, and to implement an expanded regular season by next year — especially since Tretter has shown no inclination to move quickly. Still, until the NFL locks in the date for Super Bowl LXII as February 13, 2028, the door remains ajar for the season to grow by one game as soon as 2027. At some point, the league will have no choice but to nail down the dates for the hotel reservations and the use of the convention center and other venues in the week preceding the game.”
It’s unclear if the NFL has a deadline in mind for when conversations about expanding the regular season could be pushed back for at least the 2028 campaign. While there theoretically is still time for the league and the union to add an 18th game to the schedule for next year, it seems like team owners may be prepared to wave the white flag and punt talks down the road until a new collective bargaining agreement between the sides is reached.
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