Veteran insider Mike Florio explored how the NFL will push for one of the biggest changes they want to see in the league. Five years after the first 17-game season happened, owners are moving to increase that number.
During an appearance on “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” Florio said that the league is moving like they want to make deals, especially regarding their broadcast deals. On that note, he sees it pushing the 18-game calendar idea before the 2027 NFL season.
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"The Super Bowl to be played in Atlanta, in February of 2028, does not have a date yet — which, less than two years from the game, is unheard of."
—@ProFootballTalk tells @PabloTorre why an 18-game NFL regular season is coming sooner than people think pic.twitter.com/4z2X4rhln5
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) March 24, 2026
“They’re gonna go to JC Tretter, and they are going to lay out a new CBA that is promised upon, above all else, an 18-game regular season. 16 international games per year. Robert Kraft has already talked openly and nonchalantly about, ‘This is how is going to be.’ Not ‘This is what we want.'”
Roger Goodell says the NFL schedule change hasn’t been a big topic in the league
Florio added that the owners will project that attitude to Tretter to try to get their way. He noted that if Tretter rejects their first (and presumably) best offer, the situation would look grim for the players.
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Once they start “crying” because they don’t want to miss games, the NFL will get its win.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks to the media at San Jose Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
“Super Bowl to be played in Atlanta, in February of 2028, does not have a date yet for the game, which is unheard of. They’re keeping the date for the game because they’re holding out for the possibility that there will be an 18-game season by 2027.”
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Ahead of Super Bowl 60, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said there have not been talks about extending the NFL schedule one more game. He noted that a lot of things will need to be discussed before they approve something like that.
“We have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly very little of any informal conversations,” Goodell said at his Super Bowl LX news conference. “It is not a given that we will do that. It’s not something we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership.”
The NFL could cut one preseason game if it were to extend the schedule, as well as add another bye week.
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