NFL players union leaders against adding 18th game

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The majority of NFL players are against playing an 18-game regular-season schedule, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told reporters Wednesday in New Orleans.

Howell's comments, made at the union's annual Super Bowl week news conference, came two days after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell talked about a potential expansion from the league's current 17-game schedule, citing improvement in player safety.

"No one wants to play an 18th game," Howell said at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. "No one. Seventeen games is already, for many of the guys, too long.

"Seventeen games is also so lengthy that you're still dealing with injuries going into the next season. So, there are a variety of issues that hang off of the length of the season before any formal negotiations."

Howell and Goodell both said they've spoken informally about the matter. Howell said several other issues need to be addressed, including roster size, bye weeks, off-season length and international playing schedule, before those negotiations progress.

The NFL announced later Wednesday that the Los Angeles Rams will host the league's first game in Australia in 2026.

"They would like to go as far away as Australia, the Middle East, India, you name it," Howell said. "They truly want to look at the international [aspect] of the game. So how does that fit into 18 games?"

NFL veterans Austin Ekeler and Case Keenum, who are on the union's executive committee, also spoke Wednesday about the potential toll of an 18th game.

"I think all of us here and all of our teammates back home all love playing football," Keenum said. "Do we all wish our seasons would have been longer for other reasons? Yes. This time of year though, the training room is pretty full. All of us our struggling to get our bodies back right.

"I know most of my teammates we don't feel really normal until July comes around in time for another season. This is probably not the right time to talk about adding another game ... as far as the health and safety goes. That's a big issue for us."

The NFL announced last month that concussions were down 17% in 2024 compared with 2023. Goodell cited league safety as a reason for previous expansion.

"There is a lot of work to be done," Goodell said. "We committed in 2011 when we signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that the players would not only have a say in that, but they would actually be able to prevent it from happening or support it.

"We were able to do that when we moved to 17 games and I think it's in large part because of the safety of our game."

The NFL expanded from 16 games in 2021.

Goodell said a two-game preseason, instead of three, could be paired with a potential 18-game regular-season schedule. He also said the league has to be "incredibly sensitive and smart with the balance and how we deal with that."

"Even the thought of 18 games makes me cringe," Ekeler said. "Personally speaking, my ankles as a running back take a few months to heal after the season. ... That 18th game, personally speaking, not speaking for the membership is something that is really outrageous to me. If you are talking about expanding revenue, there's a lot of ways to do that."