The NFL is getting closer and closer to turning the season into one with 18 regular season games, an addition of two games to the current setup. Why? Revenue — each game brings in millions for both teams and when the NFL sees more money, they usually jump on it (I can see Roger Goodell kissing the mini giraffe from the HD commercials now).
Almost everyone else besides the owners and commissioner want to keep the season to 16 games. The biggest issue in the NFL right now is player safety. Players are so strong and fast the NFL has had to take measures to keep them safe on the field — helmet to helmet and horse collar penalties to name a couple. Yet at the same time, they now want to adopt a schedule that will put players in harm's way for two more games without paying them more for it. It doesn't make sense.
The NFL claims to make up for this difference they will remove two games from the preseason. Starters barely play in the preseason, usually about a game and a half out of four in total. The starters might see a reduction in the preseason minutes, but nothing substantial. The players who will see a large reduction in their playing time are the back-ups. These guys fight tooth and nail to make the team, but will barely have an opportunity if the NFL goes to an 18-game schedule. Teams simply won't have the time to evaluate all of the back-up players, meaning guys like Tom Brady might never make it in the NFL of the future.
At the end of almost every NFL season there are teams that are far enough ahead in their division that they can rest their players going into the playoffs. Some would argue instead of teams doing this starting around week 14, it will start occurring around week 16. Chances are with more games there will be a larger spread between top teams and the rest of the league, and therefore resting will still occur around the same time it does during the 16-game season. This would render anywhere up to approximately four games at the end of the season meaningless for some of the NFL's best teams.
The final reason the NFL shouldn't do this is for preservation of the record books. Players will have two more games to compile yards, completions, sacks, interceptions, et cetera. The 2,000-yard rushing club will no longer be as elite. Tom Brady's 50 TD mark will be easier to surpass. Career numbers of players after 2010 will be inflated, and they will eventually dominate the record books.
The NFL's decision to push so hard for an 18-game season simply does not make sense, and the league shouldn't do it. I don't know one fan who wants it. From what I've heard on TV and radio, players and coaches don't want it. This is the NFL being itself and doing anything to get more money at the end of the day.
The only way this does work is if the NFL takes the revenue gained from these extra games and finally creates a pension system to help retired players with debilitating injuries resulting from their playing days. The current system is broken, and the NFL has done very little to fix it. At least that's the only way I see it working for all involved.
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