NFL will reportedly expand season to 17 games in 2021
In the proposal, a Week 18 would be created, and the postseason would be shortened to two or three games.
The NFL is planning to announce the league will expand its schedule in 2021 and teams will play 17 games, according to a report Sunday by the NFL Network’s Ian Rappoport and Tom Pelissero.
“We anticipate it’s going to happen,” sources told the two reporters, but an official announcement may be weeks or months in the future.
In the proposal, a Week 18 would be created, and the postseason would be shortened to two or three games. On Dec. 16, owners approved in a virtual meeting a scheduling process that would give each team an extra interconference matchup based on the previous season’s divisional standings, and on a rotating basis. Owners did not vote on adding an extra game at the Dec. 16 meeting. There’s no specific deadline for finalizing a 17-game schedule, but it may come in April or May when schedules are traditionally released, according to the report.
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A 17-game schedule would also push the Super Bowl to the second week of February. Teams would still have one bye week.
The additional game would also create much-needed revenue for the NFL, following a year projected to have a multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league’s salary cap is reportedly likely to drop to $175 million next year, down from $198.2 million this year, but new media and ticket revenue from an extra game could boost the cap above $175 million.
The schedule expansion would be the first time the NFL has added games since 1978 when teams went from a 14-game schedule, to its current 16-game iteration.
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