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The NFL Players Association and the NFL have had discussions at a "very high level" over potentially adding an 18th regular-season game to the schedule, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told The Washington Post.
Howell told the Post that talks between the NFLPA and the league have not reached the stage of formal negotiations, but he acknowledged that he plans to discuss the issue with players in the near future.
"We have talked at a very, very, very high level superficially, with a recognition ... about, 'Yeah, this is something that we should be talking about. And we should really kick the tires and understand what else goes into that decision-making process,'" Howell told the Post. "Where does the 18th game come from? I think the foregone conclusion is well, you just grab it, like, in what would otherwise be [preseason games] in August. You play it forward.
"But these are details that really need to be fleshed out. But again, there are other economic, health and safety matters that also need to be clear to our members before there's ever an agreement about an 18th game."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this year that he favored an 18-game season, adding that he envisions a lengthened schedule that would culminate in a Presidents Day weekend built around the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
Howell said the NFLPA would be open to potentially adding an 18th game before the league's current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season. The CBA mandates that any change to the length of the season would need to be collectively bargained.
"The simple fact of the matter is when you have a growing enterprise and there are opportunities within that intervening period of time where progress could be made and you could tweak the existing CBA legal document, why wouldn't you want to do that?" Howell said.
"So whether it's field surface, whether it's the [offseason] schedule, if you want to call that formal [negotiations] -- I call it bargaining. I call it amendments. I call it updates to what is now a living document called a CBA. Yeah, I want to be able to have our membership in a position to jump on it when we can, not wait until their playing days are done and it's like you go through the cycle all over again."
Goodell shared his long-term vision for an 18-game schedule during an April appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."
Howell told the Post that he was "excited" over Goodell's public comments about the topic, adding that he viewed the 18-game schedule as a starting point for the NFLPA to "peel back" other issues in the current CBA. He also cited recent remarks by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who suggested earlier this month that the league should add a second bye week to accompany an 18th game.
"Our membership is interested in a myriad of things before we even get to the number of games -- health and safety, field surface, OTA makeup, compensation, what percent of their annual compensation is guaranteed," Howell said. "So there are many things before we get to [the] 18th game. ... It's a negotiable point. ... So it grabs headlines. I totally get that.
"But what's the complexion of the 18? How many of the games are now going to be overseas? And where's overseas? Is it Western Europe? Is it South America, as in this year? Is it in Asia? Australia? These are things that are in the air. And then, to what I think Joe Burrow said, what about the number of bye weeks? Is it two? More than two?"
The NFLPA reluctantly agreed to the expansion from 16 to 17 games in 2021 -- a contentious issue among players that ultimately passed narrowly, with 51.5% of players voting in favor.
Several prominent players, including New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, publicly opposed the idea of a 17-game schedule in 2021, and Howell acknowledged that he has work to do in order to gain widespread NFLPA support for an 18th game.
"Many of our players have said, 'They're going to ask for more games,'" Howell said. "So one of the things you learn in business is this applies back to the obvious -- I know you're going to ask for more games because that ... generates more money. And to be fair, don't we all want to grow the pie?
"So it's the manner in which the pie grows, and what's the trade-off in there so that we don't just play another game but all these other dimensions that I mentioned also get addressed?"
(Photo Courtesy NASCAR)
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