The NFL decided to expand from its traditional 16 game format to 17 games for next year. Alvin Kamara did not take lightly to the news.
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Kamara tweeted out a reaction in which he shows his clear opposition to the decision.
Shit dumb… as hell.. https://t.co/HnJ0otzzWp
— Alvin Kamara (@A_kamara6) March 28, 2021
As a result of the decision, the NFL will probably trim down the pre-season to two or three games as well.
The new CBA passed in March 2020 gave the NFL the option to expand to 17 games and they have chosen to exercise that option for the next season. The NFL had not made a change to their schedule since 1978, the longest period they had gone without doing so.
Why Did The NFL Decide To Expand To 17 Games Next Year? Why Was Alvin Kamara Upset By The Decision?
The biggest reason the NFL decided to expand is, well, of course, for money. An extra game means extra revenue. One more game means additional viewers, ticket sales, merchandise purchases, and all the micro-transactions that occur at an NFL venue.
The COVID-19 pandemic had greatly affected NFL viewership and ticket sales. As a result, the NFL and its teams lost a reported $4 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a drop in the salary cap this year, and thus the NFL definitely felt the urgency of making the decision to switch to a 17-game season.
However, this doesn’t mean that everyone involved is happy. As seen above, Alvin Kamara was clearly upset by the change. Why though?
Well, for NFL players an extra game means extra training, more practice, and more in-game activity. In a league as physical as the NFL, every game matters when it comes to a player’s health. One more game could mean a devastating injury.
Also, a cut in the pre-season means that players have less time to get used to the speed of the game and get back into shape. Starters typically use this time to ease their way back into playing full-fledged NFL games again, and teams use it to test rookies and backups out. Thus, there are reasons that players like Kamara would be disappointed by this move.
Who Will Play Each Other In The NFL’s Extra 17th Game?
The NFL has already indicated that the 17th game will be decided on a rotational basis. Teams from one division will play teams from another division depending on which position they finished in the division the year before.
The divisions will rotate every year, and all the matchups will be interconference ones. That means we get to see more AFC-NFC games that usually only come by every four years.
The NFL also might already have decided what those matchups might look like next year:
Using the formula reported by @peter_king (https://t.co/LAbNkZCi5p), here are the expected matchups for the NFL’s 17th game for each team in 2021. pic.twitter.com/x4D4uF4jue
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 28, 2021
There are definitely some must-watch games in there like Green Bay vs. Kansas City, Seattle vs. Pittsburgh, and the Los Angeles Rams vs. the Baltimore Ravens. For us fans, an extra game can only be a good thing. Who doesn’t want to see more football?
