Cowboys COO Stephen Jones says 18-game season is “inevitable” - what would an 18-game NFL season look like?

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been talking about the possibility of adding another game to the NFL schedule in the future, making it an 18-game season instead of 17. The 17-game season only began in 2021, when the NFL owners voted to expand it. Among those weighing in on the conversation is Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones, who believes the change is “inevitable”.

“I’m on the competition committee. We’ve talked about this, knowing that it’s probably inevitable,” said Jones. “We all know when we go to 18 games, our revenue’s gonna jump, and certainly should only help in terms of the money available to pay players and get players the compensation.”

How would an 18-game NFL season look?

Perhaps the best part about an 18-game season is that it would land the Super Bowl on President’s Day weekend, giving everyone the following Monday off after the night of the Super Bowl, something we’ve only ever dreamed about. Of course, just getting a longer season is also already exciting. Then again, I am speaking strictly from a fan’s perspective right now. There is a lot more to consider when you’re talking about the individual players.

Football is already a rough contact sport that takes a toll on the players’ bodies. The more games in a season, the more wear and tear the players suffer through. One solution is that there would be an additional bye week. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow weighed in on that point. “I think it would be cool to have the normal bye week schedule that it is now, have it spread out, but then, like Week 13, do like the Pro Bowl break where your’e doing the 7-on-7 and all the skills challenges like the NBA does.”

Another possible outcome of an 18-game schedule would be a shorter preseason, something Goodell particularly likes. “I’m not a fan of the preseason,” said Goodell. “I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That’s just picking quality.”

Carolina Panthers tight end Tommy Treble weighed in, saying that the pay would need to reflect the higher expectations put on players. “If they’re gonna make us do one more game, then they need to add something to the check,” he said. “I’m totally fine with doing my job, man. But whatever they decide, hopefully it’s for the best intentions of the league and for the players themselves.”

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick also made the point that the regular-season starters don’t often play in preseason games anyway, so eliminating one of those games and adding another to the regular season doesn’t do much to alleviate the stress on those players’ bodies. Several players brought this up as a major point against a longer schedule, citing the increased risk for injury, shorter overall careers, and less opportunities to prepare for life after football. For the players, the day of the Super Bowl and the day after is all the same.

But if Jones is right and an 18-game season is truly inevitable, it will take a lot of negotiating in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and would require the approval of all team owners and individual players.