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And on the 18th Game, Goodell Rested

As I’ve previewed before, the NFL commissioner and the league have long fantasized about the billion-dollar possibilities of eliminating another preseason contest and adding an 18th regular season game. Murmurs emanating from New Orleans suggest that the public negotiations have begun.

Roger Goodell
Before the Super Bowl, Goodell tried to temper some of the optimism during his press conference, noting that the league hasn’t had any “formal negotiating sessions about an extension.” Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
John Ourand
February 7, 2025

Quaint were the days when the NFL played a 16-game schedule with a monthlong preseason slate. As I’ve been documenting over the past several months, after all, the league seems to be fantasizing out loud about its own expanding manifest destiny—in particular, eliminating yet another preseason game from its schedule to accommodate an 18th regular season weekend of matchups.