NFL 18 game season: Why does Cowboys owner Jerry Jones want to expand the calendar?

It is only one year since the NFL upped the regular season to 17 games, but it seems that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants more.

In a recent Dallas sports radio interview, the larger-than-life Cowboys owner confirmed that he was in favor of expanding the schedule to 18 games.

“I think that’s the right level,” said Jones.

In order to accommodate the new 17-game schedule, the NFL dropped one pre-season game. Jones believes that pre-season could be shaved down to just two games to make way for another regular season matchup.

“You know, at one time, they played six preseason games in the NFL for you history buffs. But still, I like to play two preseason games and 18 regular-season games and been a proponent of that.”

It is no mystery as to why Jones would favor a longer season. A canny businessman, he knows that more games equals mean more TV commercials, more ticket sales, more parking, and more concessions, lining his well-heeled pockets even further.

The Dallas Cowboys are already the most valuable sports franchise in the world, with a value of around $8 billion. That is 20% more than the Patriots, Yankees, or Knicks, and nearly double the value of the richest soccer team, Real Madrid. Expanding the season by 6% would translate into a financial gain in the order of $480 million for the Arkansas oil man.

Questioned as to how far he wanted to take this expansion, Jones made it clear that a 20-game schedule is too many, and that he does not want to see that happen.

Another big obstacle to expansion beyond 18 games would be that the current CBA doesn’t allow for it. Convincing players to extend the season by three weeks would be a tough sale to the players association and could possibly be a red line in future negotiations.

Between 1978 and 2020, the NFL played 16 regular-season games before adding that 17th game in 2021.