NFL Owner Makes It Clear 18-Game Season Is Coming

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NFL Owner Makes It Clear 18-Game Season Is Coming

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Jan 20, 2026 6:18 PM ET

An NFL owner suggested that an expanded regular season could be a near certainty.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Tuesday on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand that the league will make a concerted push to implement an 18-game regular season. That schedule tweak would create more international exposure across the NFL.

"I want to tell you guys that we're going to push like the dickens now to make international [games] more important with us," Kraft said. "Every team will go to 18 [regular season games] and two [preseason games] and eliminate one of the preseason games, and every team, every year will play one game overseas."

Kraft celebrated the league's "really amazing" ratings success, suggesting that more money for everyone will benefit negotiations between owners and the NFL Players Association.

"As long as we can keep growing revenue, we can keep long-term labor peace," Kraft said.

Will NFL move to 18-game season?

DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 19: A general view of the NFL logo on the official football is seen during a regular season NFL football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Detroit Lions on December 19, 2021 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

An 18-game season is far from a new thought. Commissioner Roger Goodell raised the possibility in September, insisting that swapping a preseason game for a regular-season contest would be "a really good move."

“We always say, 'What do the fans want? What do the fans really think is important?' And I think it’s clear they want more regular-season games versus preseason games," Goodell said.

Goodell later detailed the NFL's goal of playing 16 international matchups per season, giving each team one game overseas. They hosted seven international games in 2025.

However, those plans could face resistance from the NFLPA. Interim executive director David White disputed the notion that an 18-game season is already a foregone conclusion.

"The league has the right to bring any issue they want to the table and, presumably, to propose what they're willing to give to receive what they want in negotiation but we'll see when that happens," White told the Associated Press in September. "We haven't talked about it yet, and it certainly is not inevitable and should not be presented as such."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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