How the NFL Can Boost Revenue Without Changing the 16-Game Schedule

The NFL’s annual league meeting brought much discussion regarding the pending labor showdown, rules changes to improve safety, and commissioner Roger Goodell’s desire to expand the regular season to 18 games.Though the expiring collective bargaining agreement is the league’s most pressing concern, the juxtaposition of passing new rules to improve players’ safety and the desire to extend the season of such a physically demanding sport seems peculiar, if not preposterous. Under the proposed plan, the league would shorten its preseason to two games and add two regular season games to the 16-game schedule. An additional bye week would also be included in the schedule, increasing the regular season to 20 weeks.Though many have called for a shorter preseason to decrease the number of injuries in meaningless games, it’s far more likely for marquee players to suffer injuries having to play two more “real” games with higher stakes and intensity. In reality, many of the league’s top player...