Caleb Harris
The NFL is in early discussions about adopting an 18-game schedule, which won’t happen for a few years. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell even admitted the league was considering the possibility earlier this offseason. The effort to reach 18 games has not been abandoned by the league, although the current CBA does not expire until March 2031.
The league eventually wants to move to 18 games, but the CBA is restricted from going beyond 17 games until it expires. The league would not have an 18-game schedule until 2031 at the earliest. The agreement also limits the number of international games the league can play to 10 in any season until 2025.
Why talk about an 18-game calendar if it can’t happen in the next seven years? With the release of the NFL schedule this week, we’re taking a look at how the league could change in 2031 with an 18-game schedule — and some ideas have emerged that could work.
Labor Day Weekend Games
The NFL will have to add an extra week to the schedule somewhere with the 18th game. Playing a week after January is feasible, but the best option would be to return to play on Labor Day weekend. The NFL has not played on Labor Day weekend since 2000, opting to have the last “unofficial weekend of summer” off and begin play on the second Sunday in September.
If the NFL moved to Labor Day weekend, the league could play on the first Friday in September, with the probation of Friday and Saturday games not starting until the second week of September. The NFL could actually play every day, Thursday through Monday.
Labor Day football could be back as a result of an 18th game.
Mid-Season Bye (All-Star Week)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had a very interesting concept in relation to an 18th game being added to the calendar. The entire league has a week off at some point during the season, making that week “All-Star Week”. The NFL could host Pro Bowl games or a Pro Bowl that involved flag football midseason.
Giving players a week off would be huge if the league wants to maintain its all-star play. The Pro Bowl would be more relevant in the middle of the year. The league could play nine weeks and then have a week off for the Pro Bowl before playing the other nine weeks, incorporating layoffs into the second half of the season.
The league tried two weeks off in 1993, but never had a universal bye week. This is one way to keep the 20-week season going.
Two weeks goodbye
Each team would have its own bye week in addition to the universal mid-season bye week. The league can use these weeks off from Weeks 5 to 7 in the first half and Weeks 13 to 15 in the second half, setting up a frantic finale to Weeks 16 to 19. Remember, “All-Star Week” is its own week, then the schedule would resume in week 10 and go to week 19 with the bye week.
Assuming the season would begin Labor Day weekend, the playoffs would still begin in the third week of January. Two farewells can still be made.
Two preseason games
The NFL likes to play 20 games (see the 17 regular season games and the three preseason game formats they have now). This means the preseason would be reduced from three games to two with the addition of the 18th regular season game.
The preseason would still start on the second weekend of August and end on the third weekend (instead of the fourth). A quick and efficient preseason could be what the NFL needs.
International games
Starting in 2025, the NFL will be able to schedule up to eight international regular-season games per season. The current CBA allows up to 10, but perhaps this will be expanded in the next CBA (Goodell even suggested 16 games in 10 years). International games may not be scheduled after Week 14 of the NFL season, which would likely remain the same under the new CBA.
The NFL likes to play international games early in the season, paving the way for the previous proposal of Weeks 5 to 7 weeks off. They could also play international games later in the year, depending on how many international games the league decides to hold.
Please tick the sign up box to confirm you would like to sign up.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
An error occurred while processing your subscription.
More Primetime Games, Days to Play
More football means more primetime windows. Mentioned earlier were the games played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend – but what else could the NFL have in store?
The NFL has already planted a flag on Christmas this year by playing on Wednesday, opening the entire week for games. The league already has three games on Thanksgiving and one game on Black Friday. Could they try the Wednesday before Thanksgiving?
A 19-week season means another Saturday window in January, something the league would certainly consider. More inventory means more revenue for the league.
Super Bowl on President’s Day weekend
A later end to the NFL regular season would mean the Super Bowl would have to be postponed until the third weekend in February – Presidents’ Day weekend (most people have Presidents’ Day off). The third weekend in February extends the season but could generate higher ratings for the league with Monday off for most people.
It would be strange to see the conference championship weekend in February, but it’s a change that would go unnoticed once fans get used to it. There will also be no lull between the Super Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine – the next big event on the calendar.
A big win for the NFL, which has dominated the concept all year.
