Roger Goodell trying to keep fans from getting too excited about 18-game regular season?

During an interview that aired before the 2026 NFL Draft got underway this past Thursday night, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that getting to an 18-game regular season is "clearly going to be a part of discussion" between owners and players later this offseason. 

Goodell later seemed to try to keep fans from getting too excited about having more football when he discussed the matter during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." 

Expanding the regular season is more a matter of "if" than "when" for NFL?

“One, safety has to be the primary concern, right? If you can’t do it safely for our players, we’re not gonna do it," Goodell explained, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "And that’s why I would say it’s not inevitable. Two is I think this is the same issue when we went from 16 [regular-season games] and four [preseason games] to 17 and 3. We did it successfully because we did it with the players. We had taken out a lot of initiatives to make our game safer, and I think we did."

Goodell and NFL owners want to replace a week of preseason games with a week of meaningful matchups as soon as possible. It's believed the league's long-term goal is to scrap the preseason entirely and get to 19 or 20 regular-season games. 

However, the NFL Players Association must agree to expand the regular season per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that runs through the 2030 campaign. Goodell understands that giving the players things they want, such as an extra bye week, will be part of conversations regarding the next expansion of the regular season. 

"I think when you get to that point, double byes will be a question, roster size will be a question," Goodell noted. "All of those things are gonna be really important to consider, to balance, both with the players’ association and with the competition committee, so that we can do it really successfully." 

Is the NFL expanding the regular season in 2027 still on the table? 

Florio mentioned that "the NFL is still keeping open the possibility of" expanding the regular season as soon as next year, as Super Bowl LXII in February 2028 doesn't yet have a locked-in date. While Goodell's comments could lead one to believe the two sides aren't close to coming to an agreement for expanding the season, the league's actions show that there is at least a chance that the 2026 campaign could be the last under the current schedule format.