NFL Has Discussed Reducing Preseason Schedule to 3 Games

In an effort to address the cumbersome NFL preseason, it was revealed Friday that discussions have been held to reduce the exhibition slate from four games per team to three.

According to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky, Green Bay Packers president and NFL competition committee member Mark Murphy said that a potential change is being taken under consideration.

Packers head coach Mike McCarthy suggested the move to three games and providing teams with two bye weeks before Week 1 of the regular season, which Murphy believes is a change that could possibly pick up steam, per Demovsky:

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I think there would be support for three. I think Mike's [idea], that's what we've talked about. Rather than playing that fourth game on a Thursday ... don't play a fourth game and then you'd have an extra week. We've looked at different models, but I think that's the one that makes the most sense.

You're giving up some revenue, but it's one of the worst things we do. The move we made on variable [ticket] pricing helps a little bit in how preseason is viewed, but especially that fourth game is kind of a throwaway.

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Injuries inevitably happen during the preseason despite teams' best efforts to protect their players, but the elimination of one game would conceivably lessen the risk, which is a positive for the league's long-term outlook.

Money talks in the NFL, as is the case with essentially any business, but since the league raked in an estimated $12 billion in 2014, according to Jackie Wattles of CNN.com, it can certainly afford a slight drop in revenue.

Also, altering the preseason slate could add some momentum to talks of lengthening the regular season, which would ultimately restore and build upon any lost profit.

An extra week of preparation leading up to the start of the regular season would likely increase the quality of play significantly, and that alone should be enough for the league to strongly consider a change.

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