NFL, NFLPA discuss 18-game schedule at ‘very high level’

NFL Players Association CEO Lloyd Howell told The Washington Post that the NFL and the league had discussions at a “very high level” about the possibility of adding an 18th regular-season game to the schedule.

Howell told The Washington Post that talks between the NFL Players Association and the league have not reached the stage of formal negotiations, but he acknowledged that he plans to discuss the issue with players in the near future.

“We talked at a very, very, very high level, recognizing … that this is something we need to talk about. We need to examine it and understand what goes into this decision-making process,” Howell told the Washington Post. “Where does the 18th game come from? I think the expected outcome is that you just take it, like you would have in what would have been (preseason games) in August. You play it forward.

“But these are details that really need to be clarified. But again, there are other economic, health and safety issues that also need to be clarified for our members before we can reach an agreement on an 18th match.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this year that he favored an 18-game season, adding that he envisioned a lengthy schedule that would culminate on Presidents’ Day weekend and center around the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

Howell said the NFL Players Association would be open to adding 18 games before the league’s current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season. The collective bargaining agreement states that any change in season length must be collectively negotiated.

“The simple truth of this is that when you have a growing organization and there are opportunities during that interim period where progress can be made and you can amend the existing legal document of the collective labor agreement, why wouldn’t you want to do that?” Howell said.

“Whether it’s the playing surface or the (postseason) schedule, if you want to call it a formal negotiation — I call it bargaining. I call it adjustments. I call it updates to what is now a living document called the collective labor agreement. Yes, I want to be able to put our members in a position to take advantage of it when we can, not wait until their playing days are over and it’s like you’re going through the cycle all over again.”

Goodell shared his long-term vision for an 18-game schedule during an April appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

Howell told the Washington Post he was “excited” by Goodell’s public comments on the subject, adding that he viewed the 18-game schedule as a starting point for the NFL Players Association to “peele” other issues in the current collective labor agreement. He also cited recent comments by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who earlier this month suggested the league add a second week of rest to accompany the 18th game.

“Our members are concerned about a lot of things before we even get to the number of games — health and safety, the size of the field, the composition of the regulatory agency, compensation, what percentage of their annual compensation is guaranteed,” Howell said. “So there are a lot of things before we get to the 18th game. … It’s a negotiable point. … So it’s a headline. I totally get that.”

“But what will the tournament look like? How many games will be played abroad now? And where will they be played abroad? Will they be in Western Europe? In South America, as is the case this year? In Asia? In Australia? These are unpredictable things. Then, what about the number of weeks of rest? Will it be two weeks? Or more than two weeks?”

The NFL Players Association reluctantly agreed to expand the number of championship games from 16 to 17 in 2021 — a controversial issue among players that ultimately passed narrowly with 51.5% of players voting in favor.

Several prominent players, including New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, have publicly opposed the idea of ​​a 17-game schedule in 2021, and Howell has acknowledged he has work to do in order to gain broad support from the NFL Players Association for an 18-game schedule.

“A lot of our players said they were going to ask for more games,” Howell said. “So one of the things you learn in business is that it goes to the obvious – I know you’re going to ask for more games because it’s … generating more money. And to be fair, don’t we all want to get a bigger pie?”

“So it’s about how the pie grows, and what’s the tradeoff here so that we’re not only playing another game, but also addressing all the other dimensions that you mentioned?”