Get ready for more NFL games next season. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the league intends to expand the regular season to 17 games in 2021.
The official announcement won’t come anytime soon, but sources around the league say that the decision is already made. The NFL received the possibility to add one more game per team back in March after agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement with players.
Despite one more game in the schedule, the teams will still receive one bye week during the season that will now take place over the course of 18 weeks. The preseason, however, will be cut to two or three games, while the Super Bowl will be pushed to a later date in February.
The move was widely expected in recent months, especially given the financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Having an extra game will increase revenue and prevent a significant salary-cap drop.
The last time the league expanded its regular season was in 1978 when two games were added to the existing 14-game schedule.
