NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed multiple topics involving the league during a news conference Wednesday, including the NFL mulling an 18-game season and the status of Tom Brady’s effort to become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Regarding a possible 18-game season, which Goodell said last month would be his dream schedule, the commissioner said Wednesday that the topic wasn’t an active discussion. However, he said the league is thinking about an 18-game schedule in a “long-range context” and, if it were to happen, the NFL would “do it in the context of reducing the number of preseason games.”
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“We think that’s a good trade,” Goodell said. “Less preseason games and more regular-season games.”
Goodell sparked conversation last month when he floated the idea of an 18-game regular season and a shortened preseason on “The Pat McAfee Show.” A lengthened regular season would move the playoffs back, resulting in the Super Bowl falling on a three-day holiday weekend.
The Athletic reported on April 30 that such a schedule modification — the increase from 17 to 18 games and reduction from three preseason contests to two — was far from imminent because of wording in the current collective bargaining agreement, which runs through 2030, and because NFL owners and NFL Players Association leaders had not even engaged in discussions on the matter.
When asked Wednesday about the timeline for implementing such a schedule, Goodell’s comments also suggested it would not be imminent.
“Moving to quality, and making sure that we’re doing everything possible to bring our fans what they want, and they want obviously more football,” he said. “But I’m not sure they want more preseason football.”
Goodell also addressed Tom Brady becoming a minority owner of the Raiders, saying “progress is being made” but the parties are still working through issues, including the access Brady would get to other teams for his Fox broadcasting duties.
Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN last May that he and Brady had “come to an agreement” for the future Hall of Fame quarterback to join the organization’s ownership group, pending NFL approval. However, questions have arisen since the seven-time Super Bowl champion is set to begin his broadcast career as Fox’s lead analyst during Week 1 this upcoming season.
Required reading
- Despite Roger Goodell’s hypothetical, no talks between NFL owners, union on 18-game schedule: Sources
- Tom Brady says he’s ‘not opposed’ to returning to NFL
(Photo: John Smolek / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)