NFLPA has had 'very high level talks' with NFL about 18-game regular season

The possibility of an 18-game regular season in the NFL seems to be becoming more and more likely. 

The NFL Players Association has had discussions with the NFL about expanding the regular season by a game, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell shared with the Washington Post on Monday. 

"We have talked at a very, very, very high level superficially, with a recognition … about, ‘Yeah, this is something that we should be talking about. And we should really kick the tires and understand what else goes into that decision-making process,’" Howell said. 

However, Howell noted that there are still some obstacles to overcome and that the two parties haven't reached a formal stage of negotiations to add an 18th game to the regular season. 

"Where does the 18th game come from? I think the foregone conclusion is well, you just grab it, like, in what would otherwise be [preseason games] in August. You play it forward," Howell said. "But these are details that really need to be fleshed out. But, again, there are other economic, health and safety matters that also need to be clear to our members before there’s ever an agreement about an 18th game."

Even though discussions about adding a game to the regular season haven't reached the formal level, Howell's comments are the first time that the NFLPA has shown a willingness to add an 18th game. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated multiple times in the offseason that he'd like to see the league add an 18th regular-season game at some point, saying the league is thinking about it in a "long-range context" as it would likely mean a shorter preseason.

"We think that's a good trade," Goodell told reporters at league meetings in May. "Less preseason games and more regular-season games, most everybody would think that's beneficial."

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave his support to the idea when asked about it during the league meetings. New York Giants owner John Mara shared some reservations about the idea, though he said that most of the other owners want another game added to the regular-season slate.

Howell told the Washington Post that he plans to bring up the matter with players during upcoming meetings. He shared that the NFLPA could work out a deal to add an 18th game to the regular season before the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires in 2030 if players are on board.

"The simple fact of the matter is when you have a growing enterprise and there are opportunities within that intervening period of time where progress could be made and you could tweak the existing CBA legal document, why wouldn’t you want to do that?" Howell told the Washington Post. "So whether it’s field surface, whether it’s the [offseason] schedule, if you want to call that formal — I call it bargaining. I call it amendments. I call it updates to what is now a living document called a CBA. Yeah, I want to be able to have our membership in a position to jump on it when we can, not wait until their playing days are done and it’s like you go through the cycle all over again."

The NFL currently doesn't have the power to add an 18th game to the regular-season schedule without the NFLPA's approval in the current CBA. When the last CBA was agreed upon in 2020, the league got the option to extend the regular season to 17 games starting in 2021. It exercised that option ahead of the 2021 season.

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