Recent study shows NFL's pursuit of 18-game regular season will have one conclusion

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear on multiple occasions that league owners want to add an 18th regular-season game as soon as possible. 

Expanding the regular season will inevitably lead to more star players getting injured during games. Unsurprisingly, many football fans won't mind that as long as they get to watch more NFL games. 

How football fans feel about the inevitable 18-game regular season

In an article published on Wednesday, Linley Sanders and Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press reported that a recent Quinnipiac poll showed that most respondents support the NFL adding at least one week of meaningful football to the season. 

"Among NFL fans, about 6 in 10 support adding another game," Sanders and Maaddi wrote. "That view is especially prevalent among people who describe themselves as 'super fans.' About 7 in 10 NFL super fans said they’d like to see the expansion, compared with about half of casual fans. ...About 6 in 10 NFL fans who support the expansion said it would be 'worth it' when told that adding a regular-season game would increase players' risk of injury in addition to their salaries."

As was the case when the NFL expanded the season to 17 games in 2021, adding another game to the schedule would boost revenue for the owners and players. However, NFL Players Association interim executive director David White revealed this past September that the union hadn't yet "had any conversations with the league" about expanding the season again. 

18-game season is "not inevitable" under current agreement

Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that expires in 2031, the NFLPA must approve any additions to the regular-season schedule. According to Sanders and Maaddi, White emphasized that "it’s not inevitable" that the union will agree to expanding the season anytime soon. 

Last week, Goodell stated that he "can’t see anything of significance happening on our side as far as starting formal negotiations" regarding an 18-game season until the NFLPA selects a permanent executive director. 

Previous reports indicated that the current schedule format will stay in place through at least the 2026 season. The NFL might need to offer the union a second bye week, expand rosters, increase practice squad sizes, modify the offseason schedule and secure a larger share of league revenue to reach 18 games by the start of the 2027 season. 

That said, history shows there's only one conclusion to this saga — league owners getting what they want. The sooner the NFLPA accepts that reality, the sooner fans can enjoy more football each year.