The subject of an 18-game regular season came up early in a Tuesday press conference held by NFL Players Association interim executive director David White on Tuesday.
White addressed the possibility of adding a game to the season in his opening statement. The comments came a day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the expansion of the regular season is “not a given” and that there have been no “formal discussions” with the union about the change.
White said that the players have “no interest in entertaining, meaning thinking about, changes that harm player health or harm recovery process or harm the ability to compete at the highest level for the longest period of time.” They would be interested in changes “that fully account for those factors, that minimize risk and ensure players are properly recognized and compensated for a true, fair share of the value they create.”
“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 that they have no appetite for it.”
The current collective bargaining agreement runs through the 2030 season, but it could be reopened for negotiations about an additional game. An expectation that such talks will take place has existed since the league went to 17 games, but does not appear that those conversations are set to commence in the immediate future,
