NFL seems to confirm final decision for possible 18-game regular season in 2027

For months, the fact that the NFL hadn't locked in a final date for Super Bowl LXII led some to believe that league owners and the NFL Players Association could come to an agreement to make the switch to an 18-game regular-season format in 2027. 

It now appears that won't be the case. 

Super Bowl LXII date is revealed

On Friday morning, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter confirmed that Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta will take place on Feb. 13, 2028. As Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk noted, this "effectively locks in the 17-game schedule for at least another year." 

Back in March, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote that "the NFL likely will return to Labor Day weekend — where the league is able to play on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday" whenever the switch to an 18-game schedule is finalized. The NFL currently avoids starting regular seasons on the Thursday leading into Labor Day weekend due to concerns related to television ratings. There's no indication league owners have changed their minds about that aspect of scheduling games. 

Back in June, NFLPA executive director JC Tretter insisted that playing 18 regular-season games per campaign is "not a thing" players want. Per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement that runs through the 2030 campaign, the union must agree to any expansion of the regular season. 

Why it's not a surprise that fans will have to wait for an 18-game NFL season

"Given the upheaval that’s occurred with the NFLPA over the last year, this development is not necessarily a surprise," Simmons explained. "With JC Tretter just being installed as the executive director of the NFLPA in recent months, there has not been much time for the league to engage the players’ association to negotiate a game being added to the regular-season slate."

Simmons was sure to add that "an 18-game schedule appears inevitable within the coming years." Such a schedule may include an extra bye week being added to the calendar, which could impact when teams are permitted to host mandatory workouts ahead of NFL summer breaks. 

For now, it seems that discussions between the NFL and NFLPA about a possible 18-game season will be punted all the way to next year.