NFL players have 'no appetite' for 18th regular-season game as owners push for schedule expansion

The addition of an 18th game to the NFL regular season has been on the table for some time and became a larger talking point over the last year. At last offseason's league meetings, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones reported that the addition of another game to the slate seems "inevitable," albeit with work to be done before that change is enacted. One hurdle for the league's owners is to get the NFL Players Association on board, and as of Tuesday, the union remains opposed to the 18th game proposal.

NFLPA interim executive director David White said at the union's Super Bowl press conference that players have "no appetite" for an 18th regular-season game. Health and safety concerns are at the crux of the union's opposition.

"The 18th game is not casual for us," White said. "It's a very serious issue. It's something that comes out of negotiations, and nothing will move forward until players have the opportunity to account for all of those factors, take that into consideration and then through negotiations agree or not to the 18th game. But as it stands right now, players have been very clear. They don't have any appetite for it."

The NFL last expanded the schedule in 2021 with the addition of a 17th game. If another round expansion occurs, it will not happen until the 2027 season at the earliest. Furthermore, schedule changes must be collectively bargained, and the league's current CBA does not expire until 2030.

Owners, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, are in the process of pushing for an 18th game but have not engaged in formal negotiations with the NFLPA. Bargaining negotiations could begin in March after player representative meetings.

For any schedule expansion to occur, the players would likely demand guarantees to ease their health and safety concerns. That could include, for instance, a second bye week. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said last summer that he would only support the addition of an 18th game if the league added bye weeks to the calendar.

"We have no interest in entertaining changes that harm player health or that harm recovery process or that harm the ability to compete at the highest level for the longest period of time," White said.

The addition of one game and one bye week would bring the NFL regular season to 20 weeks. Add four postseason rounds to the calendar, and the Super Bowl could be held nearly six months after Week 1.

"If you looked at even Week 16, the biggest storyline was arguably about the critical contributors going down," White said. "This was across many teams. If you look at Wild Card weekend, which would be the 18th game if you took that week -- really significant injuries. Some that were high-profile but a bunch that weren't. But they happen. Those injuries, they cost players pay, they can shorten careers, they can diminish lifetime earnings. When your average career is already three to four years, that becomes something that is existential."