An 18-game NFL regular season schedule seems like a given at this point, but Roger Goodell is pumping the brakes. At least for now.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft had publicly stated the NFL’s desire for global expansion and an 18-game schedule, making it seem like it was all but a mere formality at this point. When the NFL expanded to 17 games for the first time in 2021, it was widely seen as a temporary bridge to an 18 game schedule.
However, at his annual Super Bowl press conference, the NFL commissioner seemed to back off the push to expand the regular season slate. He remarked that the 18-game regular season is not a given and that negotiations haven’t even begun with the players’ union.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on a potential 18-game regular season:
“It is not a given that we’ll do that… It is something that we want to talk about with the union leadership.” pic.twitter.com/pd8dRQy0LD
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 2, 2026
“We’re fortunate we have quite a long CBA in front of us. But I think we have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly, very little if any informal conversations. I’ve heard people talk about it in the context, it is not a given that we will do that. It’s not something we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership,” Goodell said.
The reason why everyone assumes the 18th game is a given is because of the increased revenue that it would bring to the NFL. And sacrificing an extra week of preseason football that garners a fraction of interest by comparison is the easiest way to do it.
The league is showing no signs of slowing down in its quest for world domination and the two major possibilities to extract more gains is through international expansion and increasing inventory. The NFL is already moving incredibly fast on the former with a record nine international games scheduled in 2026 including in new countries like France and Australia.
As for the latter, the NFL knows that its product is the most valuable in American society from a television and streaming standpoint. And any network or streamer would crawl over broken glass to get a hold of regular season action. With the NFL looking to take advantage of re-negotiating new contracts in 2029, another week of regular season games will just add to the possible jackpot.
But Roger Goodell likely knows that the players will want to be well compensated for the additional expansion and injury risk with another regular season game taking the place of a preseason game. Perhaps that’s why he’s chosen the diplomatic route for the moment. But the only likely outcome is the 18-game season happening sooner rather than later because the revenue pie is going to be too big for everyone to pass up on getting their slice.
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