At one point, substantial conversations should start adding a 18th game in the NFL regular season. Commissioner Roger Goodell openly said that he wanted to pursue him, the team owners clearly wanted him for their financial results, and there is an artificial deadline in 2029 – it is at this time that the League can withdraw from current interior media rights contracts, which, according to Goodell and the owners, are undervalued. The only question is when the league plunges into an effort to extend the regular season.
This moment seems to be here.
Advertisement
The league and players’ union sources told Yahoo Sports that they believed that Goodell and the owners will begin to make more affirmative efforts to add an 18th match in the NFL regular season from this summer. And according to two leaders of the high -level team, they believe that to speak who will intensify during the spring meetings next week in Florida.
“Everyone understands that the consensual construction time arrives for both (the League and the NFL Players Association),” said a league leader. “It will take time for (negotiations) to open a CBA (a collective agreement) and withdrawn sleeves on everything that is put on the table. It could take a year or two, but you really cannot do this without a wider conversation (among the owners). I think it starts to get a moment in Florida.”
The most thorny problem that should be a rope shot among the owners is whether the league as a whole is willing to move on the current income division, which pays 48% of all the income related to football to players, with a maximum distribution of 48.8% depending on the performance of media rights. Players have long sought to make their way to a 50-50 income split with the owners of the League. It is believed that it will once again be a union objective if they should agree to reopen the ABC and add an 18th match in the regular season.
Advertisement
For the moment, union leaders know that the owners of the NFL are on a clock. If the League wants to withdraw from its current rights agreement in 2029, the approach maximizing profit would be to do so with a slate from the regular season of 18 cemented games. This means there is a decreasing window to get there every year that passes. And so far, NFLPA’s desire to kiss an 18th match seems to go in the wrong direction. During the summer of 2024, the union executive director Lloyd Howell suggested an open position on the negotiation of an additional game, even going so far as to call the “attractive” expansion. But this position seemed to take a notable quarter of work in February, falling back into the union’s historic approach to say “no” with regard to more games.
“Right now, when I’ve talked to the players in the past two seasons, nobody wants to play an 18th match,” Howll said at the union’s annual press conference during the Super Bowl week. “No one. 17 games, for many guys, is too long.”
It remains to be seen that Howell adopts a firmer position to create a lever effect for commercial discussions. But there was clearly an acceptance within the Union that the League will begin to exert more pressure on the talks from this summer. And the next stride to this will probably be talks between the owners next week.
Advertisement
In addition to that, there are a wide range of other potential subjects and votes on the table, with at least 24 of the 32 teams (75%) needing to convention on a change of rule or a new rule for it to adopt. Here is my advantage over what I think is the main discussions …
This would prohibit the game that the Eagles of Philadelphia have perfected, which is essentially a scrum of rugby style that pushes a player forward for the footage. Some teams hate him (like the Green Bay Packers, who offered it), complaining that there is no real strategy involved in the room, while others do not agree.
Take the temperature: It is currently not clear if there are votes to adopt a ban. But I think it is closer to a ban than ever before.
Make the permanent dynamic kick -off, move the touchbacks and the expansion of the kick parameters on the side
These include several kick-off changes. The first would be to make the dynamic configuration of kick -off of 2024 a permanent design. The second would move the starting point for opposing Touchback from 30 to 35 -year line. And the third would open the possibility for a team to declare a kick at any time in a match, as long as this team follows.
Advertisement
The essential objective of creating the dynamic kick -off was to reduce the significant injury rate on this game. This succeeded, with 2024 data with an injury rate on the kicks which was essentially divided by two. The touch -to -touch movement would be intended to encourage the kicks to look at kicks causing yields rather than touchdown. The alteration of the kick on the side would simply allow a more strategic use of the game during a whole game, rather than classifying it in the fourth quarter.
Take the temperature: I believe that there is enough support for these three measures to succeed.
More changes could come to kick off the NFL, where players like the Cowboys Kavontae Turpin could take advantage of it. (Photo by Jason Miller / Getty Images)
(Jason Miller via Getty Images)
This would allow free agents and potential teams to make a phone call or have a video conference during the legal falsification period, as well as prepare travel with players once they arrived at a contract agreement. Indeed, this aims to improve the process of wrapping free agents, then transitting them in the fold, as well as letting players speak directly to a team rather than having information or questions only dealt with through their agent.
Advertisement
Take the temperature: I think there is enough support for it to pass.
This proposal from the Lions of Detroit would remove the first automatic bottom which is currently awarded for defensive detention and illegal contacts. Change would make such offenses only A standard 5 -meter penalty without first test awarded unless the penalty penalty advanced the ball in territory first.
Take the temperature: I don’t think there is enough support for it to pass.
Modification of the playoffs to reward the best global records rather than the winners of the division
Another Lions’ proposal, this would change the sowing format into a playoff series, removing automatic home matches for division winners and would attribute to home matches according to the global record. The seeded n ° 1 would always obtain an advantage and an advantage on the field throughout their levels of qualifying series, but the remaining playoff matches would be awarded according to the overall record rather than the winners of the division.
Take the temperature: I don’t think there is enough support for it to pass.
League meetings will officially start on Sunday in Palm Beach, Florida.