A day after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said there have been no discussions with the NFLPA about adding an 18th regular-season game, the union’s interim executive director said players have “no appetite” for the idea.
According to David White, players are not open to changes that could factor into health or recovery. The only changes membership would be open to are ones “that minimize risk and ensure players are properly recognized and compensated for a true, fair share of the value they create.”
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The NFL increased its regular season to 17 games in 2021. Over the past five years, it seemed as if the league was on a path to an 18th game. That hasn’t been the case, according to White, who told the Associated Press in September that extending the regular season again was “not inevitable.”
Five months later, the league has yet to approach the union about the topic.
“The 18th game is not casual for us,” White said Tuesday at a news conference in San Francisco. “It’s a very serious issue. It’s something that comes out of negotiations and nothing will move forward until players have the opportunity to account for all of those factors —take that into consideration and then, through negotiations, agree or not to the 18th game. But, as it stands right now, players have been very clear that they have no appetite for it.”
(Former NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell echoed a similar sentiment — “No one wants to play an 18th game. No one.” — during his Super Bowl week news conference last year.)
In January, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said it was the NFL’s mandate to expand the schedule and ensure an 18-game season would see every team playing internationally. For that to happen, it would require the NFL and NFLPA to reopen the collective bargaining agreement, which expires in 2030.
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On Monday, Goodell said the league would like to talk to NFLPA leaders about expanding the schedule. There would be multiple issues that would need to be resolved in those talks, such as whether a second bye week for teams would be necessary and what roster sizes might look like if the regular season was 19 or 20 weeks long.
There would also be the natural end game in negotiations with both sides getting something they want.
“For the 18th game to happen, there’s obviously going to be some negotiation,” said Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp. “There’s some things, give and take. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things. If the 18th game is on the table, there’s going to have to be some talks about what makes that worth it to the players. And we’ll get to that point. We’ll cross that bridge.”
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