Extending the NFL Season: Debating 18 Games Vs. 16 Games

As part of the new NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement, the league may add two more regular season games, increasing the season to 18 games.

To keep from extending the season any further into February, the league would cut the preseason in half, from four games to two.

Overall, the players still would have to play 20 games before the postseason.

There are pros and cons to this plan, but overall, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

First, let's examine why going to 18 games would be a good thing, beginning with the benefit to season ticket holders.

As things stand now, when a person purchases a season ticket package, they must purchase both preseason home games, whether they want them or not. They also pay full price for those tickets even though preseason is an exhibition where the starters rarely play into the second half.

By reducing the preseason to two games, you're giving the season ticket holders more value for their money. Additionally, the season—which always seems to fly by compared to other sports—gets a little more padding.

Preseason football over the last 20 years steadily has gotten more coverage on the Internet and television as football fans, starved for anything resembling NFL Football, tune in to watch and follow online.

This usually wears out by the last preseason game, but the powers-that-be pay attention and know a good thing when they see it.

From the players' standpoint, the positives mean they're getting two more games that count, which will increase their pay.

On the negative side, that's two more games of hard pounding.

Players never go as hard in preseason as they do in the regular season, and the starters are in limited action, so the pounding they take in the preseason pales in comparison to the regular season.

With such a long offseason, teams and coaches have worked the system over the years to add the offseason program of OTAs and mini camps. Expect this system to be modified to accommodate the two extra weeks of real pounding the players' bodies will take.

The networks will definitely be in favor of adding two games because that increases their viewership. Bars and restaurants will be pleased to have the two added Sundays of football revenue from increased business as well.

While the potential damage to players' bodies is something that can't be taken lightly, it's the job of the NFLPA to keep on top of that, because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is going to push hard for the two extra games.

Once they figure out the amount of money (multi-million dollar figure, easy) two extra regular season games will bring to the teams and the league, it's not a stretch to say an 18-game regular season will most likely happen.

The only questions are how fast the deal gets done and how soon the fans start lining up for regular season football in August.