In many ways, the NFL is still a living, breathing organism… And the while the sport itself remains called football – but the folks in the league office continue to iterate and, thus, the product has continued to evolve. One of the most recent topics of debate has been the length of an NFL season.
The owners are campaigning hard to add an 18th game to the regular season, but the players have been resistant, and the sentiment is split!
How about we explore the idea further and identify five reasons that adding another NFL game would be awesome… and five that it would be TERRIBLE!
How many of these reasons do you agree with if the NFL extends to 18 games per season?
Awesome – More Football
Okay, guys… I know we live in a world divided, and there are a ton of serious issues that folks can’t seem to agree on… But c’mon! Who doesn’t want more football?
Yes, there will be a cost to the extra game—and not just with your sportsbook now that you could potentially have another week to lose bets! But we’ll get into that…
For now, how about we just relish in the fact that the idea of an 18-game season quite simply means more football, more action-packed Sundays, more fantasy football matchups, and more opportunities to watch your favorite NFL team in action?
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Not only would fans get more time to enjoy the sport they love, but on the other side of that coin, there would be a shorter offseason! Talk about a win-win!
The bottom line is that this is a simple math equation… More games equals more thrilling moments and highlights to look forward to each week!
It is hard to argue it isn’t a net positive.
Terrible – Ruining the record books
While more football—in the moment—is hard to argue… It does throw a wrench into the sanctity of the league’s record books.
This has been flagged as ne of the biggest concerns by league historians, as adding more games is radically would affect the record books.
Legendary milestones set in a 16-game season might be overshadowed by new records set in 18 games, which would inevitably come with an asterisk… At least to some!
Take Eric Dickerson’s legendary single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984, which even today with a 17-game season stands as one of the most untouchable achievements.
In a 16-game season, this averaged out to an incredible 131.6 yards per game. With two additional games, future running backs would need to average just over 117 yards per game to surpass this milestone.
The same goes for Payton Manning’s single-season touchdown record… and LaDanian Tomlinson’s 28-rushing TD mark.
Furthermore, we will start to see more and more young players climb the all-time record books as their careers progress… and over time—all of those extra games will start to add up!
Ultimately, while the prospect of more football is exciting, it’s essential to consider the long-term implications on the sport’s legacy and the role that the integrity of the record books plays into maintain it.
Adding games might bring short-term excitement, but it could also lead to a future where the achievements of today’s stars are forever marked with an asterisk, casting a shadow over their legacy… Or even worse—yesterday’s legends are forgotten!
Awesome – Super Bowl before Presidents Day
Honestly… Regardless of whether the NFL adds another game, they should find a way to make this happen!
An extended season would push the Super Bowl closer to Presidents Day, creating the perfect long weekend for NFL fans.
How much better would it be to be able to enjoy the biggest game of the year with a day off on Monday to recover from all the drin—I mean… festivities?
This is an absolute no-brainer.
It would create an ideal setup for epic Super Bowl parties and a chance for fans to truly savor the end of the football season without the dread of Monday morning looming over them.
Make it happen, Goodell!
Terrible – Player Safety
According to the NFL, player safety is of the utmost importance, and it is a paramount concern!
So… Please! No one pays attention while we try to add another regular season game that only increases the risk of injuries.
To the average human, one more game may seem like no small feat for the freak athletes on NFL rosters…
But the physical toll of an NFL season is already immense, something we mortals will truly never understand.
At worst, an extra game could push players to their breaking point—and a minimum it is exposing them to unnecessary risks for greedy owners that are just trying to suck up some extra profits.
The long-term implications could be dire… an extra game per year could ultimately shorten careers, which isn’t fair to the athletes who dedicate their lives to the sport.
Awesome – More $ for the Players
While there may be a legitimate risk of shortening some players long-term earning potential due to the added injury risk… The reality is that more games also does mean more revenue.
And more revenue means higher salaries for the players—right here and now!
An extended season could lead to better contracts and more financial security for those who put their bodies on the line every week.
This potential for increased earnings further enables the players to do all those things they always talk about during a negotiation, like supporting their families and setting themselves up for life after football.
When all is said and done, more money in players’ pockets is always a good thing—even if they have to do extra work for it in the form of an 18th game.
Also Read: 10 Former NFL Superstars That Could Be Pushed Into Retirement After This Coming Season
Terrible – Giving the Owners What They Want
Let’s face it, while some fans want it… and rightfully so—the origin of the push for an 18-game NFL season is the nefarious owners’ desire for more profit.
Meaning… Players and fans might see some benefits, but when you peek behind the curtain, the primary motivation is only to line the pockets of the already insanely wealthy team owners.
And while we as fans might be cutting off our collective noses to spite our faces, sometimes it feels good to be spiteful, especially when it is towards a group of individuals like the NFL owners!
Who is to say that a little class warfare can’t sneak into the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement?
Say no to an 18th game! Even if it is only to make a statement to the greedy owners!
Awesome – Extra Bye Week for the Players
Granted… the NFL could just do this regardless… and—frankly—they probably should…
However, to counterbalance the added game, the NFL could introduce a second bye week to the schedule.
Doing this would give its players more time to recover and reduce the overall strain on their bodies, something they could always use—even with a mere 17-game season.
There is precedent for this too!
The NFL experimented with this concept during the 1993 season. Each team had two bye weeks, which extended the regular season from 16 to 18 weeks… But for some reason, they reverted back the following year, despite it being very popular amongst the actual players and coaches.
So much so, that it has come up in multiple collective bargaining negotiations since! The players and their representatives have continued to push for changes that would help mitigate the physical toll of a grueling NFL season, the extra bye week included.
I’m honestly not sure why the NFL owners continue to push back on it either… It is a win-win for everyone involved!
An extra week off during the season could help manage injuries, keep players fresher, and ultimately lead to better performances on the field.
It is shocking that they have continued to resist this—seemingly just for the sake of resistance!
Terrible – Worse Product on the field
No one wants to hear this… But the reality is that with more games AKA more wear and tear and potentially more injuries, the overall quality of play might suffer.
It would almost definitely suffer… And that is something we as football lovers cannot afford to have happen, as the product has already gotten super diluted in recent years—much to the chagrin of the fans that pay their hard earned money to see top-tier football and dedicate the bulk of their weekends to this sport!
It is hard to imagine a world in which fatigue does not become a significant factor as the season extends.
Players… even those who remain relatively healthy, may experience a decline in performance due to the extended grind of an 18-game schedule because they just can’t be as precise and explosive as they might normally be.
Balancing the desire for more football with the need to protect players’ health and, subsequently, their performance on the field is a delicate challenge that must be carefully managed. Otherwise—the NFL is choosing to risk not only their fan engagement in the short term but also their long-term positioning as a premier entertainment entity.
Awesome – Lifetime Benefits
One of the potential upsides to implementing an 18-game season is the possibility of lifetime health benefits for vested NFL players.
Before we get into it… Let’s be clear—the increased revenue that the NFL would pull in as the result of this extra game is NOT compulsory for the league to institute a more robust benefits package… It sounds insane, but the NFL has just been holding on improving this package as a critical bargaining chip to play at just a time like this.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way…
It would be great to see the NFL allocate funds to establish comprehensive healthcare programs for retired players, regardless of where the money is sourced from.
Instituting such programs would assist with critical factors in maintaining a standard of living and, in some cases, an individual’s dignity… Things like medical care, physical therapy, mental health support, and access to specialists for conditions related to their playing days. It is shocking that a league with the resources that the NFL possesses hasn’t invested more in this already!
All they need to do is splinter off a little bit of that massive revenue stream to give league veterans the quality medical care they need to manage chronic conditions, recover from injuries, and maintain a better quality of life as they age. Simple!
Rolling out a lifetime health benefits program would also address the financial burden of medical expenses that many retired players face.
Even with the earnings from their playing careers, the cost of long-term medical care can be overwhelming, to say the least.
Regular people can’t fathom the wear and tear that—and the subsequent costs to treat said wear and tear—that NFL players have to endure.
It feels like covering these expenses is the least that the league could do after these players put their bodies on the line year in and year out!
This would be a major win for their brand too, which they clearly care about! The NFL would be the league that not only pays its current players… but also supports their physical well-being and facilitates financial stability and peace of mind. No more gone-broke stories!
Terrible – Less Opportunities to Make a Roster in Preseason
With a longer regular season, the NFL preseason would also likely be shortened, which, may sound appealing to all of the ravenous football fans out there that are hungry for more real-deal, regular season action—and don’t care a lick about the preseason…
However, eliminating these preseason games would not be without consequence, as it would also reduce opportunities for fringe players to showcase their skills and make the roster.
Especially when you consider the fact that we have seen quite a number of players that end of making the team during this pivotal window go on to have robust NFL careers—and earn life changing money for their families…
Taking away this opportunity from them feels almost criminal!
The fact of the matter is that while preseason games are not always exciting for fans, they are crucial for teams as they stress test their systems and fill out their rosters.
It gives coaches to evaluate talent and for players to prove themselves. Cutting these games could limit chances for underdogs to earn a spot on the team, which no one wants to see!
Also Read: The One REAL REASON To Be Optimistic About All 32 NFL Teams This Upcoming 2024 NFL Season