The NFL Players Association has engaged in high-level discussions with the NFL about the potential implementation of an 18-game regular season, the NFLPA’s executive director said.
Lloyd Howell said during a meeting Monday with Washington Post reporters and editors at the NFLPA’s headquarters in D.C. that the talks between the union and the league have not yet progressed to formal negotiations. But the discussions between the two sides, which have not been previously reported, indicate that the latest pursuit by the league and team owners of an 18-game season has moved beyond the hypothetical stage.
“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. “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. 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.”
Howell said he will discuss the issue with players during upcoming meetings. He left open the possibility that an 18-game season could go into effect, if players are in favor of it and if the union were to be able to secure what it might seek in prospective negotiations with the league and owners, via an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA before the expiration of the current labor deal. The collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2030 season and specifically prohibits the league and owners from unilaterally extending the regular season to 18 games.
“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 said. “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.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed his preference for an 18-game season during a broadcast interview at the draft in April. Goodell reiterated that view at the conclusion of an owners’ meeting in May, saying: “We would do it in the context of reducing the number of preseason games. We think that’s a good trade.”
The owners largely support Goodell’s preference for an 18-game season and they and the league might attempt to get the union to agree to such a calendar well before the current CBA expires, The Post reported in April, citing five people familiar with the NFL’s inner workings and the owners’ views.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at the May meeting in Nashville that he supports an eventual move to an 18-game season with a corresponding reduction of the preseason from three to two games per team, calling that “the most effective allocation.”
Howell’s remarks Monday were his most extensive public comments on the subject and signaled a willingness by the NFLPA leadership to engage with the league and owners on the topic. Howell said he was “excited” that Goodell raised the issue publicly.
“When Roger said 18 games, in one sense you could say it’s inevitable,” Howell said. “But I think you miss the point. The point is economics and the point is what hangs off of any number of factors – the number of games in a season just being one. So let’s go further. Peel back what’s in the CBA. Probably 17-ish major points, number of games in a season being one. What hangs off of that? Well, [practice] squad size, roster size. So now we’re talking about additional contributions to the economics [beyond] just the number of games.”
Howell did not specify what concessions the NFLPA would seek from the league and owners in return for agreeing to an 18th regular season game. But he mentioned a variety of issues that could be part of the discussions, including altering the schedule of offseason practices known as organized team activities, or OTAs.
“Our membership is interested in a myriad of things before we even get to the number of games: health and safety, field surface, OTA makeup, compensation, what percent of their annual compensation is guaranteed,” Howell said. “So there are many things before we get to [the] 18th game. … It’s a negotiable point. …
“So it grabs headlines. I totally get that. But what’s the complexion of the 18? How many of the games are now going to be overseas? And where’s overseas? Is it Western Europe? Is it South America, as in this year? Is it in Asia? Australia? These are things that are in the air. And then, to what I think Joe Burrow said, what about the number of bye weeks? Is it two? More than two?”
Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals’ star quarterback, has mentioned the need for teams to have a second bye week during the season if it is extended to 18 games.
“With 18 games, it initially is an emotional topic, right?” Howell said. “So if you’re new in the league and you haven’t sort of suffered the wear and tear of a career, you’re probably like, ‘Eh, sure – 18, 19,’ you know? But if you’re a veteran and you’re looking to extend and you’ve already had serious injuries over the course of your year, that additional game is hardship. It really has an impact on you.”
The owners have sought an 18-game season since the negotiations with the NFLPA that led to the 2011 labor deal. They increased the regular season from 16 to 17 games in 2021 after securing the right to do so in the CBA completed in 2020 under Howell’s predecessor, DeMaurice Smith.
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“I think you all know in the last CBA negotiation, 17 [games] wasn’t a pro forma decision,” Howell said. “Many of our members felt very strongly about the … support or the not-support of that. And actually, whether the CBA ultimately got approved or not kind of hung on that. So the other reason I was excited Roger put it out there is we can start that discussion now. We don’t have to wait until the week before a vote or even a year before a vote. We can really understand: What are the issues? What’s the science behind it? What are the economics behind it?”
The players received an increased share of revenue under the salary cap system and other concessions by the league and owners in exchange for a 17th regular season game in the current CBA, which was narrowly ratified by the players in March 2020.
“Many of our players have said, ‘They’re going to ask for more games,’ ” Howell said. “So one of the things you learn in business is this applies back to the obvious: I know you’re going to ask for more games because that … generates more money. And to be fair, don’t we all want to grow the pie? So it’s the manner in which the pie grows. And what’s the trade-off in there so that we don’t just play another game but all these other dimensions that I mentioned also get addressed?”
Howell, formerly the chief financial officer of consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, said he has met with approximately 25 owners since his election last year, in addition to his meetings with players and with Goodell and other league leaders.
“I think historically the whole system sort of operated on, ‘Oop, there’s an impasse.’ Or, ‘Something’s happening in the media. It’s time to duke it out,’ ” Howell said. “As a businessperson, that’s about the dumbest thing that you can do. It’s better to have a relationship … and then we can have a rational discussion about, ‘Can we meet in the middle?’ Or if we’re going to dig in, we dig in.”
Howell said the NFLPA soon will deliver its pending proposal to the league and owners to reconfigure the offseason calendar by eliminating teams’ voluntary on-field workouts in the spring in favor of a longer ramp-up period for players leading into training camps in the summer.
“This was an issue that had [been] raised before my arrival,” Howell said. “I’d say the volume of it continued to increase. And in my first year, as I was meeting with each of the teams, this was one of the issues that emerged. And so we’ve done our homework as recently as this weekend, and we’ll be sending something to the league in the not-so-distant future.”