Roger Goodell, NFL to Reportedly Discuss 18-Game Schedule at Owners Meetings

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's campaign to add an 18th game to the regular-season schedule is reportedly set to gain momentum during next week's annual owners meetings.

According to Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, two NFL executives believe schedule expansion talks "will intensify" when the annual meeting talks place in Palm Beach, Florida from March 30 to April 2.

Those talks will be part of what is expected to be "more assertive efforts" from Goodell and team owners to talk schedule expansion this summer, according to Robinson.

The NFL has an option to opt out of many of its current broadcast deals after the 2029 season. The league could theoretically hope to get more money on a new deal if it can promise networks 18-game seasons after the current collective bargaining agreement expires in March 2031.

One NFL executive said, per Robinson: “Everyone understands consensus-building time is coming for both [the league and NFL Players Association]. It’s going to take time to get to [negotiations] opening a CBA and rolling up sleeves on whatever gets put onto the table.

"It might take a year or two, but you really can’t do that without a broader conversation [amongst owners]. I think that starts to get some momentum in Florida.”

The Washington Post's Mark Maske previously reported in February there is a "growing conviction among the NFL's team owners" that the schedule will expand to 18 games as part of the new CBA.

The NFLPA took a stance against the 18-game schedule at its annual press conference in February, where executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. said "no one wants to play an 18th game."

"Seventeen games is already, for many of the guys, too long," Howell said, per ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "Seventeen games is also so lengthy that you're still dealing with injuries going into the next season.

"So, there are a variety of issues that hang off of the length of the season before any formal negotiations."

Howell also discussed the possibility of players being allowed to purchase equity in teams in the future, per Terrell. NFL owners voted last summer to allow private equity firms to buy stakes in teams, but active players are not allowed to invest in a franchise.

When the current CBA was finalized in 2020, players earned a larger share of revenue while the NFL got the opportunity to add a 17th game to the regular season. More concessions would likely be necessary in order to get the NFLPA to agree to another round of schedule expansion.

An 18-game schedule would likely involve a reduction of the preseason to two games, Goodell has previously stated. Howell added that other aspects including bye weeks, roster size and international travel would need to be addressed as part of negotiations.