Peter King: 17 Game Schedule Highly Likely for 2021

Home/Away for added game will flip-flop by conference each year.

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Hearing it’s most likely to be AFC hosting all 16 newly invented games in 2021. Then NFC teams hosting in 2022. If that’s how it goes, it’s the fairest way. Competitive equity is the key. You don’t want three NFC East teams playing eight at home and the fourth playing nine at home.

Not a fan of this idea. I enjoyed having 3 games on Saturday and Sunday.

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A Monday night wild-card game? I think it’s somewhere between 50-50 and very likely. Last year, the NFL wouldn’t consider playing one of six wild-card games on Monday night because it would have conflicted with the Jan. 11 college football national title game. The NFL instead played three wild-card games on Saturday and three Sunday in the 2020 season. This season, college football will play the championship game in Indianapolis on Monday night, Jan. 10, 2022. That leaves Jan. 17 as the football-free Monday night of Wild Card Weekend. So the NFL could play two games on Saturday, three on Sunday, and one on Monday. Screaming, of course, will commence about the Monday night winner playing a short-week game the following Sunday. (And the NFL would ensure that the Monday night winner would not play until Sunday of divisional weekend.) Balderdash. With three wild-card games on Saturday, six teams are sure to play a short-week game. With two wild-card games on Saturday and one on Monday, five teams are assured of a short-week game—four on Saturday and Monday’s winner, which would play the following Sunday. If I’m a coach, I’m happy after playing 17 games in 18 weeks to have an extra day of rest before a playoff game. What’s the argument against it?

Christmas football would be great!

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Christmas football. Dec. 25 falls on a Saturday, and the NFL is considering playing two games that day. The league was encouraged by the big rating for last season’s Saints-Vikings game (20.1 million viewers on FOX, the highest non-Sunday rating for the network in more than two years), so expanding to two games seems like a good business experiment.

back by 3 weeks.

February is the worst sports month and the NFL could own it with playoff football. September is crowded with College Football and MLB playoff races; if NFL started October 1 they would have 6 weeks all to themselves (Mid Jan through Feb); then March Madness would start the week after the SB.

Football is hugely successful in part because each regular season game matters a lot. Diluting the value of each regular season game is bad. Also, they should add a second bye week.

or cranky old man (though I like good change so I don't think so), but I fail to see how a 17th game makes the game better.

it's all about $$$ and IMO those changes are unnecessary and I am against this one.

Keep it at 16 games.

Announce the teams but don't have the game. No reason why you need a bye week before the Super Bowl.

Because its one more week of football
But I understand you're point

In comment 15164150 nyjuggernaut2 said:

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Screaming, of course, will commence about the Monday night winner playing a short-week game the following Sunday. (And the NFL would ensure that the Monday night winner would not play until Sunday of divisional weekend.) Balderdash. With three wild-card games on Saturday, six teams are sure to play a short-week game. With two wild-card games on Saturday and one on Monday, five teams are assured of a short-week game—four on Saturday and Monday’s winner, which would play the following Sunday. If I’m a coach, I’m happy after playing 17 games in 18 weeks to have an extra day of rest before a playoff game. What’s the argument against it?

It's hard to believe King wrote this with a straight face. The teams playing on Saturday have a shared short week and there's no competitive imbalance. The team winning a Monday night game advances with a short that their opponent doesn't share. He can't possibly think those two things are comparable. If he wants to say it's not that big a deal, so be it, but it's pretty silly to equate two things which are clearly different.

or go to 18, 17 is dumb.

Wasn’t this already agreed upon?

and the owners have the ability to trigger the change.

In comment 15164161 Trainmaster said:

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Football is hugely successful in part because each regular season game matters a lot. Diluting the value of each regular season game is bad. Also, they should add a second bye week.

That and football knows when to end. Pushing to President's Day will make the season drag.

All about the almighty coin. 18 game season feels inevitable. But please, tell us how they're concerned about the health of the players...

going to 17 games and re-upping with this CBA version. It is amazing how razor thin that vote was last year. And how many wanted to change their vote when they got more informed...

Great article from ESPN below - long read, but worth it - and how D-Smith has become a lackey for the owners.


NFLPA & 2020 CBA - ( New Window )

at least dump the Thursday night games.

and the NFL prints billions of dollars.

Fat cats get bored, greedy, and ruin their own product.

In comment 15164235 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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and the NFL prints billions of dollars. Fat cats get bored, greedy, and ruin their own product.

They don't care about the quality of product, just the quantity of viewership. And since damage to the product has meant no loss of viewership, they continue to hack away at it. Only when they lose eyeballs over it, will they care about the quality of the game. And let's face it, we are all guilty. I've seen the quality of the game diminish with each decade and it hasn't changed my willingness to watch it at all. I don't want a seventeenth game but I will watch every minute of it.

LOL. You must not be a Season Ticket Holder. If I have to sit through possibly 4-5 games in December and January, I would give up my seats. You have to be kidding me with playoff games in February as well. This is not the USFL.

...

In comment 15164180 JonC said:

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or go to 18, 17 is dumb.

The NFL wanted 18, but NFLPA negotiated it down to 17.

It will almost certainly go to 18 the next contract they have...they have to keep finding ways to grow the revenue, and the players want ever increasing salaries so it's a two party issue.

They have wanted to play the Super Bowl on President's Day weekend for well more than a decade. Their belief is that ratings will go even higher in 70% of America doesn't have to go to work the next day.
This allows them to request higher fees from the networks for their broadcast partners, and therefore continue to grow profits...and, yes, the salary cap.

In comment 15164226 Victor in CT said:

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at least dump the Thursday night games.

Player safety only applies to QBs as far as owners are concerned. They are such phonies otherwise. And this extra game cements it.

They love having their direct costs fixed, huge television money and increased franchise values.

The NFLPA is the worst union I've seen. The players should hire the head of the teachers union.

In comment 15164185 MtDizzle said:

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Wasn’t this already agreed upon?

thought the same thing

In comment 15164165 pjcas18 said:

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or cranky old man (though I like good change so I don't think so), but I fail to see how a 17th game makes the game better. it's all about $$$ and IMO those changes are unnecessary and I am against this one. Keep it at 16 games.

I agree, add in the increased injury risk, and I just don't see the value. Add a 2nd bye, which would give the networks an extra broadcast week.

I like the idea of playing through February as well. They probably will add a couple more teams eventually so then they can expand playoffs. Maximize revenue. I don't think they want to give up the early Sept games that have great weather.

In terms of players health. Well if the rosters are bigger and they expand practice squads with some untouchables they can maybe help with that. Players can take more games off and you wouldn't have players that are "pushed" to play as much.

to have to sit at another home game in January. Have the extra games when the weather is nice in the summer.

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Which I don’t mind, I enjoy Christmas NFL.

In comment 15164340 Greg from LI said:

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Name me a commish who you think has done very well? No one has been worse than Manfred imo.

In comment 15164340 Greg from LI said:

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Yup.

I think Silver, by & large, has done a good job.

In comment 15164353 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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I think Silver, by & large, has done a good job.

Yeah, he's handling that China entanglement beautifully.

In comment 15164165 pjcas18 said:

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or cranky old man (though I like good change so I don't think so), but I fail to see how a 17th game makes the game better. it's all about $$$ and IMO those changes are unnecessary and I am against this one. Keep it at 16 games.

I agree, you are a cranky old man, but don't worry, you're in good company, and I agree with everything you said.

In comment 15164354 Tom in NY said:

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In comment 15164353 SFGFNCGiantsFan said: Quote: I think Silver, by & large, has done a good job. Yeah, he's handling that China entanglement beautifully.

Do you not understand the expression 'by & large'? No commissioner is perfect.

are good at being loud about some things. Then other things where they should and would show some consistency they clam up as it hits the bottom line.

Probably best if they just played ball.

In comment 15164160 csb said:

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back by 3 weeks. February is the worst sports month and the NFL could own it with playoff football. September is crowded with College Football and MLB playoff races; if NFL started October 1 they would have 6 weeks all to themselves (Mid Jan through Feb); then March Madness would start the week after the SB.

don't you mean "ahead"?

In comment 15164353 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

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I think Silver, by & large, has done a good job.

I’m fine with Silver, but be fair - he gets treated with kid gloves by the media compared to the other sports.

With 2 bye weeks. Gets almost the same amount of TV revenue and pushes the SB to Presidents week. With 2 byes you also might be able to have most of the teams playing on Thursdays coming off of a bye.

basically comes with the understanding most fans aren't going to like the job you're doing. I mean, if you take the 4 major sports and rank the leaders, you might only look favorably on Pete Rozelle, Larry O'Brien and Paul Tagliabue.

Maybe David Stern.

And yet, for the most part, these guys preside over leagues who thrive and are still drawing significant fans to watch.

It isn't a very good job to have from a popularity standpoint.

In comment 15164384 Alan W said:

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In comment 15164160 csb said: Quote: back by 3 weeks. February is the worst sports month and the NFL could own it with playoff football. September is crowded with College Football and MLB playoff races; if NFL started October 1 they would have 6 weeks all to themselves (Mid Jan through Feb); then March Madness would start the week after the SB. don't you mean "ahead"?

I guess - so we don't get into semantics I just mean delay the start of the season

If I’m the NFL, I eventually want 18 games, with 2 bye weeks (ie a 20 week regular season). Start the season in mid to late August (baseball fatigue def set in by then) and have the super bowl President’s Day weekend. Get rid of the preseason.

If they go to 17 games I have a feeling the Cap will end up higher than the projected $185 million.

I get a little confused when fans lament that the league makes decisions based on money. It’s a business. What else are they doing?

Pay more players, more money and get rid of the silly IR rules.

The NFL is great. So many young great stars right now. When fans are back in the stadiums, these are going to be glory years for the NFL.

and had a greater influence on the playoffs (who made the playoffs and whether a team could put their best players on the field) when the NFL went from 14 to 16 games?

i hope they keep it at 16 games.

In comment 15164450 christian said:

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I get a little confused when fans lament that the league makes decisions based on money. It’s a business. What else are they doing? Pay more players, more money and get rid of the silly IR rules. The NFL is great. So many young great stars right now. When fans are back in the stadiums, these are going to be glory years for the NFL.

Exactly. The NFL is doing very well. A ton of fans like to have it both ways - bash Goodell for the rule changes while criticizing the NFL for how violent the game is. Which is it? The NFL is doing what they can to increase player safety.

Also, the media loves slamming the NFL. Not to be political, but the left bashes it because of violence/Kaepernick. The right bashes it because of the kneeling issue. The media is always quick to reference declined ratings too, but NFL runs laps around other sports.

I always found it funny when the sports media speculated that the NBA would overtake the NFL back in 2016ish when the NFL saw a dip in ratings. How’s that working out?

There will never be a .500 team in the NFL ever again.

In comment 15164612 OntheRoad said:

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There will never be a .500 team in the NFL ever again.

Actually yes if you consider the possibility of a tie if OT has no scores.

there still can be a .500 team

In comment 15164180 JonC said:

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or go to 18, 17 is dumb.

Exactly. Something about finishing the season with a 6-11 record feels ridiculous.

In comment 15164548 Sean said:

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The NFL is doing very well.

Ask yourself this question - is there anything about the game that is an improvement on how it was played 20 years ago? Anything that the NFL has done in the past 20 years that's made the sport better?

Fine, but again, I can say that about any sport.

NBA: too many 3 point shots, game is much more finesse now. Stars dictate the competitive balance of the league.
MLB: games take forever, little action. Sport has never been less relevant nationally.

So, yes there are things that frustrate me about the NFL now. I’d say something that is better is the level of QB play. In addition, there are much more explosive plays offensively vs before. It is almost two different sports now. Is it all good? Of course not, but I understand the circumstances for why the changes are occurring.

Easy improvement. It's not a kill shot league where practically the only defense on the field is lining up to head hunt.

And semi-related, hopefully the rate of players getting serious brain injuries is going down as well.

Those are two massive improvements.

In comment 15164449 Bruner4329 said:

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If they go to 17 games I have a feeling the Cap will end up higher than the projected $185 million.

It will, but all previously signed contracts will be increased by an additional game check (up to a max of $250k), so the cap impact in terms of new cap room is likely going to be negligible.

I used to feel differently, but I started to change my mind when it became clear that teams weren't taking preseason games seriously. I used to think they were essential to prepare for the season; that's clearly wrong.

Fuck it - expand to 40 teams and go to a 20 game schedule. 8 5-team divisions. More money, more games, more jobs.

In comment 15164880 Go Terps said:

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I used to feel differently, but I started to change my mind when it became clear that teams weren't taking preseason games seriously. I used to think they were essential to prepare for the season; that's clearly wrong. Fuck it - expand to 40 teams and go to a 20 game schedule. 8 5-team divisions. More money, more games, more jobs.

I tend to agree. But with that said, I used to defend thursday night football around here until I was blue in the face but lately I side with the haters. Apples and oranges, but sometimes I defend more games or more nights of football only to change my mind some time later.

More jobs is fine with me. More football never sucks and maybe they have sort of found their footing with TNF games...but I reserve the right to change my mind.

There's no reason not to have larger rosters than 53.

In comment 15164974 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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There's no reason not to have larger rosters than 53.

I can understand wanting expanded rosters, but there's a pretty clear reason not to do it.

In comment 15164974 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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There's no reason not to have larger rosters than 53.

I'd eliminate the practice squad and expand the roster to 63. Allow teams to promote players on and off at their discretion. And not penalize teams if a player gets injured and can come back.