NFL Preseason Rumors: Will NFL Really Cut Down Number Of Preseason Games?


NFL preseason rumors suggest the league could cut back the number of games. The NFL may also increase the number of playoff games in a tradeoff to continue making revenue for the same length of time. A report from NBC Sports indicates that the NFL is working to calculate the financial hit that would occur if the league reduced the preseason by two games. This could be a bold move by the league, but it also needs to get all the owners on board with it.

Currently, the NFL preseason has four games for every team, with many players having complained in the past that this is too many. When Jordy Nelson injured his knee in the preseason, it led to many new complaints from fans about how players were being put at risk in games that don’t count. Nelson is out for a year, possibly hurting the chances of the Green Bay Packers to get back to another Super Bowl. Commissioner Roger Goodell already took a lot of heat for that injury.

Within these NFL preseason rumors, the league is trying to figure out a way to balance the lost revenue from eliminating those two preseason games. One of the ideas being floated is expanding the postseason, something that has been a hotly debated topic among fans for years. The current system allows six teams from each conference to make the NFL Playoffs, meaning 12 of the 32 teams are in the postseason every year.

While the league doesn’t have to get approval to drop preseason games, approval is certainly needed from the union to add regular season games. The NFL Players’ Association would have to agree to terms where extra games were added on to the schedule. It’s a tough sell, as the NFL schedule is pretty grueling as it already stands. That’s where the middle ground of expanding the postseason could come into play.

It would be easy enough to add two postseason teams to each conference. It would eliminate the first-round byes that the top two seeds in each conference get, but it would also allow four more wild card teams into the mix. The league could then grant home field advantage to the four division winners in the first round. These NFL preseason rumors would give fans what they want in the form of more games that count. It would start the regular season earlier and allow for fantasy football to come around much quicker each year.

[Image Source: Jon Durr/Getty Images]

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