NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea of extending the NFL season to 18 games, potentially pushing the Super Bowl to Presidents’ Day weekend.
Goodell floated the possibility in an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Thursday.
“I think we’re good at 17 now,” Goodell said. But, listen, we’re looking at how we continue. I’m not a fan of the preseason.… The reality is, I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That’s just picking quality.
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the crowd before the start of a Play Football Prospect Clinic with Special Olympics athletes, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
“If we get to 18 and 2, that’s not an unreasonable thing. The other thing it does, (Super Bowl Sunday) ends on up Presidents’ Day weekend, which is a three-day weekend, which makes it Sunday night and then you have Monday off.”
No meaningful steps have been taken to seek to change the 17-game schedule to 18 games. Any change to the schedule would have to be collectively bargained through the NFL Players Association.
Goodell also touched on increasing the international schedule and streaming.
“I honestly think we’ll be playing 16 games internationally if you go 10 years out, I think we’ll try to get to eight or nine in the next couple years,” he said.
Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the Chicago Bears with the first overall pick during the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
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He said using streaming platforms expands what the league can do in terms of fan interaction and alternative broadcasts.
“As you know, we go for the broadest possible distribution we can. We want to make our games available to the widest audience we possibly can,” Goodell added. “But, also, I think the streaming platforms give us more interaction. There are more opportunities to do alternative broadcasts. There’s more interaction for the fans if they want that interaction.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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“So we’ve been incredibly happy with our Thursday night package on Amazon Prime. YouTube had our Sunday Ticket this year. Again, tremendous growth, and I think the fans really enjoyed it. And in each of those platforms, our average age of our audience went down eight to 10 years. So that’s where a lot of people are that we need to reach, and that’s why we’re investing in it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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