NFL Rumors: Some Owners Feel 18-Game Season Could Be Implemented in 2-3 Years

An 18-game regular-season schedule for the NFL could be coming soon, although it might not be implemented ahead of the 2025 season.

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, some NFL owners believe that an extra game may be added to the schedule "in the next two to three years."

Owners also remain "hopeful" to expand the schedule before the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the 2030 season, per Maske.

Under the previous CBA, the regular season was extended from 16 games to 17 prior to the 2021 season.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave his own timeline regarding the implementation of an expanded schedule on Nov. 14, saying that he would like to see the change occur "within five years" (via Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal).

Goodell also confirmed that the league was looking into an 18-game schedule on Dec. 11, and the results would be shared with the NFL Players Association.

"We are doing analysis I would say, but we are not finalizing any plans at this point," Goodell said, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Any change to the schedule must be agreed upon by the league as well as the NFLPA. That appears to be a possibility, with NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell telling Maske in July 2024 that both sides had begun talks regarding an 18th game and that he was open to the possibility of making the change before the expiration of the CBA.

Players could be hesitant to agree to the change, although Goodell explained that the framework of a new schedule would still be 20 weeks in each season. If another regular season game were to be added, a preseason contest would be removed.

An 18-game regular season is still on the table, and some owners are hoping that the change is made within two or three years.