NFL owners and comissioner Roger Goodell have talked about extending the regular season to 18 games from the standard 16 games for quite some time now. The Wall Street Journal reports that the push has been given more serious thought.
Among those campaigning for a longer season is Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and a number of other high-profile NFL executive.
The premise behind the idea comes down to further potential revenue. The catch is each player in the league would be restricted to 16 games only. Owners and Goodell argue that it's beneficial for players, too, but NFL Players Association president Eric Winston has rebuked the idea. "They're looking at it like, 'Hey get back into the mine and start mining coal,'" he explained.
Players in the NFL have been lobbying for improved conditions for middle-class players over career, contractal, and health concerns. The NFL Players Association believes that more games will simply undercut these issues.
On average, there's around 4,000 injuries in the NFL every year. It's believed that more games would increase this number.
"No players are banging down my door asking me to think about this," added Winston.
Check out the negative responses to the 18 game season proposal below.
