The players in the NFL already voted in favor of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), but the owners still have to vote on the specifics of the expanded playoffs. Even amid the coronavirus pandemic, the owners plan to vote on the 14-team playoffs next week.
Of course, the preface of the new CBA was to expand the regular season to 17 games. As of this moment, the NFL plans on enforcing the extra game in the regular season beginning in 2021.
On the other hand, another important detail in the new CBA is the idea of adding another team to each conference in the playoffs. Therefore, the No. 1 seed in each conference would receive a first-round bye. In the current playoff format, the top two seeds are given first-round byes in the postseason.
Plus, in the new playoff guidelines, the other three division winners would face a team in the Wild Card round. With that being said, it is unclear how the NFL would go about scheduling playoff games.
Under the new playoff format, the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers would've advanced to the playoffs in 2019. However, if the owners vote to pass the new playoff rules, they would go into effect for the 2020 season.
The league has been contemplating ways to make more revenue while also decreasing the number of games in the preseason. Besides having a longer regular season, the NFL is hoping to have more teams playing in the postseason. By this time next week, we should have an answer on whether or not that will come into fruition next season.
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