Report: NFL proposing 18-game season with 16-game limit per player
Jul
12
7/12/2019 1:46:13 PM
|More
As part of the NFL's push for 18 regular season games, the league is reportedly proposing an 18-game season with a per-player limit of 16 games per year according to Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal.
This idea has been floating around for years and apparently Roger Goodell and team owners believe it would address the NFLPA's concerns about player safety. It's an idea that would seem to have a lot of unintended consequences and could lead to a fan revolt. Suppose you are a fan that saved up all season to buy tickets to a New Orleans Saints game only to find that one or more star players-an Alvin Kamara or a Michael Thomas or future HOF QB Drew Brees-has to sit out that game because of the 16-game limit. It's not as if the fan is going to get their ticket discounted because the team isn't at full strength-especially from a league that even gouges season ticket holders for the full price of preseason games featuring a bunch of scrubs.
And how could any team willingly sit a healthy starting quarterback? It is possible that problem could be solved by exempting QBs (and kickers and punters) given the enhanced safety rules already in place to protect them. But there are plenty other star players that could devastate their team's playoff chances by being required to sit out. Or imagine a team with a chance for a perfect season losing that chance by being forced to start backups at key positions.
This bizarre proposal only shows how desperate the NFL seems to be to expand to 18 games and how successful the players' union has been in rebuffing them. Maybe instead the owners need to accept the fact that the only way players are ever going to agree to the 18-game season is to pony up a lot more cash and make them an offer they cannot refuse.
Jul
12
7/12/2019 1:46:13 PM
|More
As part of the NFL's push for 18 regular season games, the league is reportedly proposing an 18-game season with a per-player limit of 16 games per year according to Andrew Beaton of the Wall Street Journal.
This idea has been floating around for years and apparently Roger Goodell and team owners believe it would address the NFLPA's concerns about player safety. It's an idea that would seem to have a lot of unintended consequences and could lead to a fan revolt. Suppose you are a fan that saved up all season to buy tickets to a New Orleans Saints game only to find that one or more star players-an Alvin Kamara or a Michael Thomas or future HOF QB Drew Brees-has to sit out that game because of the 16-game limit. It's not as if the fan is going to get their ticket discounted because the team isn't at full strength-especially from a league that even gouges season ticket holders for the full price of preseason games featuring a bunch of scrubs.
And how could any team willingly sit a healthy starting quarterback? It is possible that problem could be solved by exempting QBs (and kickers and punters) given the enhanced safety rules already in place to protect them. But there are plenty other star players that could devastate their team's playoff chances by being required to sit out. Or imagine a team with a chance for a perfect season losing that chance by being forced to start backups at key positions.
This bizarre proposal only shows how desperate the NFL seems to be to expand to 18 games and how successful the players' union has been in rebuffing them. Maybe instead the owners need to accept the fact that the only way players are ever going to agree to the 18-game season is to pony up a lot more cash and make them an offer they cannot refuse.
Comment