The new NFL CBA has officially been approved. Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints noticed. The CBA has been a point of contention for quite a few players, but it appears enough agreed on it to get the deal passed.

In that new deal, there will be a 17th regular season game. This was one of the biggest issues players such as Michael Thomas had. It creates what they believe to be less safety. If they are playing more games, their bodies are more torn down and they have a higher risk of injury.

However, now it is the reality. Players will have to get used to 17-game seasons. And for some, that means the jokes are already going to fly. Michael Thomas, the superstar wide receiver of the New Orleans Saints weighed in, mentioning “load management”.

Load management is a very popular topic of discussion in sports, specifically basketball.

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Players rest certain games, even without injury, to remain healthy. The NBA has taken a lot of steps to prevent load management as much as possible.

However, this hasn't been an issue in the NFL. Teams will sometimes rest players in Week 17, if they already have their postseason spot locked in. Now Michael Thomas is joking that with that extra game, teams might be more inclined to do it.

However, this is clearly nothing more than a joke. The NFL regular season is still just 17 games (18 weeks) long. With such small of a schedule, teams can't really afford to be sitting stars just to give them a rest. Maybe teams with locked in spots will rest their stars, such as Michael Thomas, for two games.

That's still unlikely though, as with two games left, it's unlikely a team would be 100% locked in to a specific playoff spot. The point Michael Thomas is trying to make is noted though. Risk of injury will go up, and it might upset some players. Don't be surprised if there are more jokes about this. And if the NFL ever expands again, they might actually start reaching “load management” territories at some point.