There's been a lot of talk recently about the NFL possibly adding another regular season game. An additional game was being discussed as a way to add more international games to the league schedule. The National Football League Players Association threw cold water on that idea on Tuesday.
“NFLPA interim executive director David White said the union has no “appetite for a 18th game,” Dallas Morning News reporter Calvin Watkins posted to X, formerly Twitter.
White made the comments ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl, which pits the New England Patriots against the Seattle Seahawks. While adding another game will likely continue to be debated, it appears the players union is holding strong to their position for now.
“The 18th game is not casual to us,” White said.
NFL teams currently play 17 regular season games. That was established in 2021, after teams played 16 games for years before that.
The NFL says discussions have to continue about possible schedule expansion
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says there's a long way to go if the league expands its schedule once again. Goodell says some issues that must be addressed include possibly adding another bye week for each team.
“We have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly very little of any informal conversations,” Goodell said at his Super Bowl presser, per NFL.com. “It is not a given that we will do that. It's not something we assume will happen. It's something we want to talk about with the union leadership.”
Another wrinkle that needs ironing out is whether to expand roster sizes. The commissioner says the league needs to safeguard the health and safety of players, if another game is added to the slate.
One person who is pushing for another regular season game is New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft spoke with a radio station ahead of the Super Bowl about how an 18th game would allow every NFL team to play at least one international game per season.
