Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is no fan of the preseason, and he's a major proponent of changing the NFL's current setup of 16 regular-season games and four preseason games (plus the fifth game for Hall of Fame Game teams) to 18 regular-season games and two preseason games.
Via Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News:
“I was a big advocate in the last negotiation. I made the presentation,” Jones said. “You can see how I did.”
Jones made the case that there are two key areas in which this plan would be beneficial:
“I can make the case that we have an uptick in concussions in the preseason,” he said. “If you look at it, I would contend there would be less exposure.” Jones said shortened training camps would be a part of the plan as well.
But the big one?
“It would provide more than $1 billion to the players,” Jones said. “It's certainly worth considering. It would direct more value for what the players expend to the players.”
The NFLPA didn't go for these arguments during the last round of negotiations, and it may never happen given the increased awareness of CTE. While getting rid of preseason games makes sense, adding more games that matter and creating more opportunities for key players to suffer brain injuries may not offset the increased revenue chances in the players' minds.
On the other hand, simply dumping preseason games without changing the 16-game regular season may not be in the cards either because that would mean a loss of revenue.
It's a tricky situation with more and more teams casting aside preseason as an important way to prepare for the regular season. It would certainly be helpful if fans weren't paying a pretty penny for these exhibition tilts, and perhaps pricing is an area where compromise could be made.
Either way, Jones will continue to fight for shortening the preseason and lengthening the regular season.
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