By Jenn McGraw
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Super Bowl LX officially kicked off Monday, not only celebrating the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, but just the sport of football itself in a week-long event leading up to the game.
Prior to Super Bowl Opening Night fueled by Gatorade, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held his annual press conference, talking about the most pressing issues surrounding the NFL.
This year is particularly interesting given recent world events and government documents naming several NFL owners. As the NFL is always adapting and changing rules in the offseason to keep the game updated, Goodell floated around with the idea of having an 18-game season.
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"I've heard people talk about it in the context. It is not a given that we will do that. It's not something that we assume will happen. It is something that we want to talk about with the Union leadership," Goodell said.
Goodell considered 18 games for at least two years, as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow responded to the potential expansion with a two-bye season proposal.
"And I think you remember in 2011, as part of the CBA, we committed to the players that we were going to have this conversation, and we were going to talk about the pluses and minuses. We moved from 16 to 17. We had that conversation. I think that went quite smoothly. But the challenges will be different here a little bit." Goodell said.
Fans didn't take too kindly to the idea of 18 games, sharing similar worries that there would needs for two bye weeks and that injuries would be inevitable.
Another fan responded simply with two words: "Fire Goodell."
The NFLPA consistently opposed the idea, with statements like "No one wants to play an 18th game."
Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, who's hoping to add another ring to his collection later this week, is advocating for the 18-week schedule, predicting how that would look.
“Every team will go to 18 [regular season games] and two [preseason games] and eliminate one of the preseason games, and every team every year will play one game overseas,” Kraft said.
"There are a number of issues that need to be discussed with the players, and that I'm sure will be a focus, or at least a component ... but there are a lot of things that I think are gonna be on the table." Goodell said.
In 1993, the NFL experimented with the schedule by adding a second bye week, equaling an 18-game schedule. The teams felt that having two weeks off during the regular season disrupted their weekly routines.
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