Roger Goodell seems to respond to Patriots owner Robert Kraft about possible 18-game NFL season

Back in January, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft suggested that the NFL going to a schedule format of 18 regular-season games and two preseason contests was basically a foregone conclusion.

While speaking with reporters on Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made it clear that league owners and the NFL Players Association aren't close to coming to terms on a deal for expanding the regular season. 

NFL, NFLPA have had no "formal discussions" about 18-game season

"We have not had any formal discussions about it and, frankly, very little, if any, informal conversations," Goodell said about the subject, per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. "I’ve heard people talk about it in the context. It is not a given that we will do that. It’s not something we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership."

Per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that expires in 2031, the union must agree to an expanded regular season. As The Athletic's Mike Jones noted, the NFLPA currently does not have a full-time executive director.

Long before Kraft offered his comments, reports indicated the NFLPA could ask for a second bye week, expanded rosters, an altered schedule for the offseason program and an increased share of league revenue to accept an 18th regular-season game being added to the calendar. According to Maaddi, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp said on Monday that "there’s going to have to be some talks about what makes that worth it to the players" as it pertains to an 18-game schedule. The NFL went to its current format in 2021.

Will NFL, NFLPA talks about schedule change go "very smoothly" this time around? 

"In 2011, as part of the (current) CBA, we committed that we were going to have this conversation, and we were going to talk about the pluses, the minuses as we moved from 16 to 17," Goodell continued. "We had that conversation. I think that went very smoothly, but the challenges will be different here, and it’ll depend on a lot of factors, including safety of the game. What are the changes that we can make to the game from a safety standpoint, but also competitive standpoint? Do we have two byes? What is the roster size? There are a number of issues that need to be discussed with the players that I’m sure will be a focus, or at least a component of the next CBA, at least in the discussion phase." 

There's no sign that NFL owners will change their minds about eventually going to an 18-game schedule, and it's possible that the long-term goal is to replace each preseason contest with a meaningful in-season matchup. That said, it sounds like Goodell understands the players are willing to drag out conversations for years before they accept what seems to be the inevitable conclusion to this story.