NFL, players union informally discussing expanded regular-season schedule

The NFL and its players may be moving closer to adding an 18th regular season game, potentially before their current collective bargaining agreement expires.

NFL players union chief Lloyd Howell told the Washington Post on Monday that while the two sides have not held any formal negotiations on the issue, there have been discussions "about "at a very, very, very high level superficially."

Howell said the economic, health and safety concerns regarding an 18th game will be addressed in his upcoming meetings with players.

Under the current CBA, which expires after the 2030 season, the league cannot add another regular-season game to the schedule without the approval of the Players Association. However, Howell said that wouldn't prevent a schedule change from going into effect sooner if both sides can reach an agreement.

“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 — I call it bargaining. I call it amendments. I call it updates to what is now a living document called a CBA."

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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has already gone on record in favor of adding an 18th game to the schedule. By extending the regular season another week, it could allow the league to have Super Bowl weekend align with Presidents' Day weekend, which means many fans would have the Monday after the game off.

Howell did not specify what concessions the players might seek in exchange for approving an 18th game. However, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has on multiple occasions suggested a second bye week for each NFL team would be an important part of making an expanded schedule palatable to the players.