• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Nominations Are Open for Front Office Sports Honors! Submit Now

Goodell, Owners Signal 18-Game NFL Season Is Coming—Eventually

Even as the NFL focused on several other topics at its annual meeting this week, the idea of an 18-game season continues to loom.

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

PALM BEACH, Fla. — An 18-game NFL regular season was not a major topic at this week’s annual meeting, but it’s increasingly looking like a foregone conclusion that team owners will pursue it—and perhaps soon. 

Much of this week’s agenda involved pursuing growth in some fashion, whether it be flag football, international play, or media rights. The season itself looks quite likely to ultimately become part of that wave.

“Certainly it’s in the future,” said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. “I know the potential. But there are several things that I can see in the future that are potential. I also know that … things can take time.”

League commissioner Roger Goodell was more measured in his comments late Tuesday on the 18-game season, but he also pointed to that being a topic of rising interest around the league.

“We continue to analyze and discuss this,” Goodell said. “We are thinking about a lot of things in the context of our season structure.”

The commissioner’s remarks on the potential season expansion followed a busy Tuesday morning with the adoption—and tabling—of several proposed rule changes

Despite these sentiments, getting that 18th game will require a deal with the NFL Players Association, which has been increasingly opposed to the idea, largely due to health and safety concerns. At February’s Super Bowl LIX, union executive director Lloyd Howell said, “When I have talked to players over the last two seasons, no one wants to play an 18th game.” 

The expanded regular season is also fundamentally intertwined with the near-certainty that the NFL will opt out of its current domestic media rights deals in 2029. Having more inventory to sell would strengthen a negotiating position that is already unrivaled in U.S. television.

“I’m more optimistic about how it grows here than I was when I first came into the NFL in 1989, and any period in between. I see a lot of positive growth,” Jones said about the league’s future media rights. 

More Holiday Gifts

The NFL also confirmed plans to air a third Christmas Day game in 2025, building on the doubleheader held last year. Netflix will again stream two games as part of its current three-year rights deal, while Amazon will also stream one, given that the holiday falls on a Thursday this year. Amazon is the existing rights holder for the Thursday Night Football package.  

The move will look to build upon an average of more than 24 million for last year’s doubleheader, which set a league streaming record. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was on-site for the NFL annual meeting this week, detailing owners on the fast-changing media landscape. Between the existing rights deal, the NFL’s expanding global ambitions, and Netflix’s still-rising status as the world’s largest streamer, the company figures to be a core part of the league’s long-term future.  

The teams involved in those games will be revealed with the 2025 schedule release in May. 

A New Era in Measurement

The league, meanwhile, formally approved its expected move to end chain crews as the primary means to measure first-down yardage. Instead, the NFL will use Sony’s Hawk-Eye virtual measurement technology to determine the distance between spotted balls and first-down markers. 

The Hawk-Eye technology is already used in a variety of other sports for similar applications, particularly for line calls in tennis. NFL chain crews will remain on the sidelines as a backup.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

In the NIL Era, College Basketball’s Biggest Programs Keep Winning

Only Power 4 teams qualified for the men’s Sweet 16.
Kelly Coleman, pro bat lead operator, inspects a torpedo bat after it comes out of a baseball bat lathe at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Ky. on Mar. 31, 2025.

‘Torpedo’ Bat Sales Boom As Debate Rages About Effectiveness

Several manufacturers report historic interest in the much-debated bat design.

From NFL Draft Rights to Open Jobs: 7 Burning NFL Media Questions

Fox has a few significant openings—and some key free agents.
Los Angeles Golf Club owners Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams cheer for their team against the New York Golf Club during the TGL semifinal match at SoFi Center on March 17, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
exclusive

Alexis Ohanian Bid on NFL Flag Football, Serena Williams Exploring Franchise

Ohanian is the first known bidder for the flag football leagues.

Featured Today

Mar 26, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) in the first half Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Creator Behind the LeBron ‘Glazing’ Trend Sweeping TikTok

FOS spoke to TikTok user OkaySpade who made the original song.
Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys manager Amir Khan before a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Amica Mutual Pavilion
April 1, 2025

Inside the 24-Hour NIL March Madness Deals

Some of the most viral partnerships come together overnight.
Seattle Kraken
April 1, 2025

Samantha Holloway Is Seattle’s NHL Present—and Hopeful NBA Future

Samantha Holloway is steering the Kraken and hoping to revive pro hoops.
Brehanna Daniels
March 31, 2025

NASCAR Pit Crew Member Brehanna Daniels Didn’t Know She’d Be a Trailblazer

The first Black female tire changer didn’t know she’d be a trailblazer.
Laney-Hamilton

WNBA Champion Missing Season Shows Risks and Kinks of Unrivaled

The Liberty have six weeks to make a decision on Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
April 1, 2025

NFL Tush Push Vote Has Been Pushed

Owners table a vote on the highly debated quarterback sneak play.
Nov 10, 2024; Munich, Germany; The NFL shield logo at midfield during the 2024 NFL Munich Game at Allianz Arena.
April 1, 2025

NFL’s Global Ambitions Now Extend to Abu Dhabi

Three teams gain marketing rights to the United Arab Emirates.
Sponsored

How UBS Crafts Impactful Partnerships Across Sports, Arts, and Culture

As UBS continues to expand its impressive array of sports and entertainment partnerships, the company solidifies its position as a leader in wealth management.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton
March 31, 2025

Major Unrivaled Injury Hits WNBA

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton injured her meniscus at the new Miami league.
exclusive
March 31, 2025

NFL Considers Backers for Pro Flag Football Leagues Ahead of LA28

The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are seen as a likely watershed event.
Torpedo bat
March 31, 2025

Yankees Used the ‘Torpedo’ Bats Last Year

The bats are being widely adopted across baseball.
March 30, 2025

NFL Owners Face Big Decisions on 18th Game, Streaming, Rules

The league approaches its key offseason gathering with a sense of resurgent growth.