NFL Season to Be Extended to 17 or 18 Regular-Season Games?

Is that a good thing?  We don't think so.

Up for debate at the NFL owners' meetings this past week was whether to extend the season from 16 games to 17 or 18.

Here's commissioner Roger Goodell's take on the potential change:

"I think (with) the quality of NFL programming, that every one of our network partners would say, if they have the chance to have more regular-season programming, they'd be interested in it. A key point is (that) the fans also recognize players they want to see are not in those preseason games; that's why they are not attractive. They want to see those players play."

Let's be honest for a second and look past the spin. There's only one reason for the potential extension: money.

It'll give the league an additional two games to generate revenue, and in an economy like this, who can blame him for proposing the idea?

But the real question to be asked is whether the reward (additional revenue) is worth the risk (injuries)?

To me, the obvious answer is "no."

The only way the game is truly marketable is by having the stars in one piece. And although the fantasy and gambling components would probably benefit, the quality of the game itself would be damaged by having guys go out in the 17th or 18th game.

Many of you will say that a football player can be hurt in any game, and while that's true, just as a tree is more likely to fall with each strike of the axe, so after 16 weeks of pounding an injury is more likely to occur.

However, there would be a smart way to get to 18 games, although not all would be regular season. How about cutting the number of preseason games in half, to two per team?

They're mostly used for coaches and organizations to figure out which players will fill out the last five or ten spots on the 53-man roster, anyway. And time and time again, the NFL loses stars in these meaningless contests, and that has an adverse affect on the marketing revenue and apparel sales.

How many Osi Umenyiora jerseys flew off the racks last year?