NFLPA’s Austin Ekeler: Idea of 18-Game Season ‘Makes Me Cringe’

NEW ORLEANS — NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell came out strongly against an 18-game regular season, questioning at his annual Super Bowl press conference the effect adding another game to the schedule would have on player health and safety.

His position, which is different from the one he espoused at last year’s Super Bowl press conference when he said everyone likes more football, helps explain NFL commissioner Roger Goodell putting the brakes on adding an extra game. On Monday, the commissioner said schedule expansion negotiations would take place within collective bargaining agreement talks; the CBA expires in 2031.

“Right now, when I have talked to the players the last two seasons, no one wants to play an 18th game,” Howell said. “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.”

NFLPA player president Jalen Reeves-Maybin said, “I don’t think anyone was really in favor of going 17 [in 2021]. I definitely think you feel it on your body. You feel the mental toll just going through the season. … Actually, I would say that guys were against 17, and I think the guys are against, I know the guys are against 18.”

NFLPA players in 2020 narrowly approved the new CBA, which included the 17th game starting in the 2021 season. And Howell’s predecessor, DeMaurice Smith, left his post three years after he shepherded the new CBA to slim approval.

Added NFLPA executive committee member Austin Ekeler, “Eighteen games makes me cringe. … the 18th game, personally speaking, not speaking for membership, is something that is really outrageous.”

The news conference comes as the NFLPA is in a period of transition, with the union seeking voluntary buyouts of a significant share of the staff. Howell talked about staff needing new skill sets, mentioning data analytics as one specialty.

Asked about the union’s seemingly sizable $1 billion in assets, Howell described the NFLPA’s financial condition as “adequate.”

“The changes that have been reported are really around talent, but it’s to make room for these high-demand, in-demand capabilities that we don’t currently have.”

Howell also called on the NFL to allow players to earn equity in franchises, which is not possible under a current league rule disallowing any team employee [not related to the owner] from receiving shares in the team. Smith brought this issue up occasionally at his Super Bowl press conference, but owners have been a firm no. NFL franchise valuations are soaring.

Howell also criticized the league’s expansion of its international schedule for affecting player health and safety and said the NFL can’t go beyond 10 international games a year without union permission. Goodell has said he would like to stage 16 international games a year.

“The fact is, there’s very little consistency across surfaces in the league, and the variability gets worse when you factor in soccer fields we’re playing on internationally,” Howell said.