16 Going On 17 Going On 18

Author: Matt Iberger

Editor: Fran Attie

The 2020 NFL season was one for the books. While it went along with very few hiccups and all games were played, it truly encapsulated the strange year the entire world was facing. 2021 seemed to be the light at the end of the tunnel: fans were back, off-season workouts were mostly back to normal, and we were finally going to have regular football games again…

Then the NFL decided to keep us on our toes, and announced that this season would be the longest ever with 17 games. And with more football for fans and more money for the league, who wouldn’t be happy? Well, the players.

Football itself is a fantastic spectacle for the viewer; but take a look under the hood and we see it can often be a whole different story for those playing in that spectacle. Football is a destructive sport for the human body and, while one week may seem like nothing to us, every additional week does take its toll on players. You can say they are millionaires and have access to top tier medical care, but it would be naive to believe that NFL owners have the health and safety of players at the forefront of their minds.

An albeit smaller yet also warranted concern is how this messes with the season scheduling. 16 game seasons had a simplistic system to figure out what opponents your team would face next season depending on where they ended up in the standings. Again, not the biggest concern, but just somewhat of an annoyance when that 17th opponent is being picked.

Now, rumors are already swirling that the NFL has its eyes set on an 18 game season, with some guessing it could be implemented by 2030. If this was to happen, I would also like the NFL and the NFLPA to come to a compromise of also including a second bye week for teams in the season. Frankly, I would like a second bye week to be around even for a 17 game season to give players needed rest during the season. But seeing as that the opportunity for that has passed, the next best time would be if the NFL attempts to add an 18th game. At some point, players need to be their own best advocates for the NFL to care about their health and safety, though I know that is not the focus for most players in the short term since the average NFL career is only about 3 years. This also benefits the owners too, indirectly, as a second bye week would also extend the duration of the NFL season, and when the NFL is on, nothing else comes close to the amount of attention it garners. Making the season longer only adds to the influence and revenue of the league; a benefit for both owners and players.

It remains to be seen how a 17 game season will change the dynamics of the league, if it would at all, but my hope is that a longer season will open the door to more pro-player rules being made; larger rosters and greater research into better equipment among other things. I hope players and the league will eventually make strides in this area. At the end of the day, this will benefit not just one party, but the entire league and its brand.

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