New NFL Players Association executive director JC Tretter has won the first round of the looming Collective Bargaining Agreement fight with the NFL by doing the one thing that we are all capable of doing.
Absolutely nothing.
By refusing to engage with the league on a potential extension that could have implemented an 18-game regular season by 2027, Tretter has forced the league to throw in the towel on extending the season as soon as 2027.
That’s the most practical result of the league finally announcing a date for Super Bowl LXII. As PFT reported immediately after Super Bowl LX, the game to be played in February 2028 in Atlanta did not have a specific date because the league was keeping the door open for adding a game to the regular season and moving Super Bowl LXII later in the month.
By picking February 13, 2028 as the date for Super Bowl LXII, the NFL has abandoned the effort to get to 18 in 2027.
It remains to be seen whether talks will happen in time to potentially add an 18th game in 2028. And it will be an annual question until the current CBA expires, after the 2030 season.
Frankly, there’s a good chance that the 18-game season would have happened in time for the 2027 season, if Lloyd Howell hadn’t resigned as the NFLPA executive director. His exit and the turmoil that ensued made it impossible to engage in negotiations.
With Tretter now in place, it would have been impossible to push an 18th game through so quickly. There will be player opposition to it. And it may take a creative solution to get there, like an 18-game season with a 17-game limit for all players except quarterbacks and specialists.
