Goodell: 18-Game NFL Season Not on Table Until CBA Talks Begin

NEW ORLEANS — The NFL does not expect to negotiate with the players’ union for an 18th regular-season game until it starts collective bargaining talks, commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters during his annual Super Bowl press conference Monday, suggesting an expansion of the schedule is more than just a few years away. 

The current NFL collective bargaining agreement doesn’t expire until 2031, but that does not preclude the league and union from amending the agreement, something recent reports have said could happen. But Goodell, seated in front of the Super Bowl LIX helmets of the Chiefs and Eagles, placed talks for an 18th game in the context of fully formed labor talks.

Asked by moderator Curt Menefee whether Goodell had a deadline for adding an 18th regular-season game, the commissioner replied, “Those things, Curt, they come up in the context of the broader CBA issues. I don’t think you isolate one of those issues over any others. It will be part of the formal discussions when we get to it.”

Global Expansion, DEI, and Future Plans

Goodell also put a qualifier on the chance of an international Super Bowl. After expressing optimism about the prospects in October, he said Monday it would happen only if it was in the city of a new franchise. Of course, if the NFL ever did expand internationally, it almost goes without saying the new club, or clubs, would vie to host a Super Bowl.

The commissioner, questioned about his dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the wake of the sharp political turn against these programs, particularly by the Trump Administration, offered a vigorous defense and said the NFL is better with DEI. “There are no quotas in our system,” he said.

Goodell confirmed the league would consider selling an international-only package of games to a media outlet, whether a streamer or linear television. The NFL aims to have 16 overseas games annually and will stage about half that many next season. And he said the league in the offseason could look again at the terms of Tom Brady’s role as part-owner of the Raiders and Fox NFL broadcaster.

Goodell also revealed the NFL is considering starting professional men’s and women’s flag football leagues. Flag football, which is an Olympic sport in 2028, is a big focus of the NFL because it allows more women to play a version of the sport and adds another avenue to become fans of the NFL.