The 18-game regular season rumblings have been around for a while now. As have its criticisms. The NFL commissioner earlier this year indicated that the league could be moving toward this new schedule, with some tweaks, and had sparked concern. One of those voices of concern is former WR Julian Edelman.
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When asked on the Colin Cowherd show what he thought of this proposed schedule, Edelman did not mince his words as he pointed towards the added risk of injury the league would be putting its players through. He said point-blank,
“I am not a big fan of it. It’s a grind to get through an NFL season. After Week 8, everyone is hurt, everyone’s banged up. It’s a 100% injury rate in this sport and you can’t go out and say you’re trying to make the game safer (even if you’re changing rules) and adding games.”
The league has been making a big deal about making the game safer for its players by introducing a bunch of new rules, but Edelman points out that their words do not match the actions. The 3x Super Bowl winner made another argument that has been going around the players’ camp: the revenue split.
Everyone knows the league has been batting for an additional two games for a while now. It already got half its wish in 2020 when one more game was added to the 16-game schedule. Now the discussion for that one more game has begun. And the reasoning can only be more revenue, however, players and Edelman argue that revenue pot should also get to the players’ pockets and not just the owners.
Julian Edelman Asks to “Sweeten the Pot”
The league has already sweetened the pot for football fans, stating that the addition of another game would push the Super Bowl Sunday to President’s weekend, giving them the Monday off after game day. Who wouldn’t love that? Additionally, commissioner Goodell hinted at removing a preseason game to add one in the regular season.
However, this is not the only thing that could incentivize players to put their bodies on the line for one additional game. Edelman says the NFL should “let the boys eat,” batting for two more paychecks for the boys. Goodell might have gotten the fans on his side through his proposal but players are still on the fence.
Many players, like Edelman, have pointed to the greed of the league and their intention to line the owners’ pockets as the only reason for this expansion. With the ever-expanding QB market, it may look like football players are making top-dollar, but that is only the case for top-level athletes.
As stipulated in the last Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in 2020, NFL players are entitled to a maximum of 48.8% of the revenue during any 17-game season. With league owners aiming to introduce an 18th game before the current CBA expires in 2030, the players’ union could leverage this change to negotiate a higher share of the revenue.
