Twitter: NFL season expected to be expanded to 17 games this week

[gjkoeppen]

My bad,, I edited it,,, thank you

NFL owners voted in December on a "scheduling formula" for a 17-game season.

I doubt that any fans cares how the players get paid for that 17th game, but I'll bet the players do. I also thought that any changes to what is agree upon in the CBA would need the NFLPA's approval. Where as I doubt that it specifies 16 games I'm sure it could be argued that what was agreed upon was based on a 16 game schedule. The money questions I raised could be legit points for the NFLPA. The long and the short of it I don't agree with expanding the number of games for two reasons. First the coaches all agree that preseason games is the very best method of evaluating their teams and losing a preseason game makes their job of evaluating that much harder. I'm old enough to remember when there were 6 preseason games and all of the squawking that was done when it was cut to 4 games. For the first few seasons fewer players drafted made teams because coaches leaned more to players that they had longer looks at in game time conditions rather than just a few plays in preseason games. Pretty much just the players drafted in the first couple of rounds made the team. When there were 6 preseason games the starters played the 1st quarter in the 1st 5 games and the last game was like it is now where they didn't play and the coaches looked at players on the bubble which was most of their draft picks. The second reason I'm against going to 17 games is this makes an uneven number of games and will have an affect on who makes the playoffs according to the list of tie breakers.
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[Typhus]

I doubt that any fans cares how the players get paid for that 17th game, but I'll bet the players do. I also thought that any changes to what is agree upon in the CBA would need the NFLPA's approval. Where as I doubt that it specifies 16 games I'm sure it could be argued that what was agreed upon was based on a 16 game schedule. The money questions I raised could be legit points for the NFLPA. The long and the short of it I don't agree with expanding the number of games for two reasons. First the coaches all agree that preseason games is the very best method of evaluating their teams and losing a preseason game makes their job of evaluating that much harder. I'm old enough to remember when there were 6 preseason games and all of the squawking that was done when it was cut to 4 games. For the first few seasons fewer players drafted made teams because coaches leaned more to players that they had longer looks at in game time conditions rather than just a few plays in preseason games. Pretty much just the players drafted in the first couple of rounds made the team. When there were 6 preseason games the starters played the 1st quarter in the 1st 5 games and the last game was like it is now where they didn't play and the coaches looked at players on the bubble which was most of their draft picks. The second reason I'm against going to 17 games is this makes an uneven number of games and will have an affect on who makes the playoffs according to the list of tie breakers.
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I appreciate your comments and your opinion, but doesnt change the fact that we are here now and NFL owners voted in December on a "scheduling formula" for a 17-game season, and an 18 game season is looming.

 

[gjkoeppen]

Same here. I don't like this move at all. 17 game season would make breaking records easier. The main record I care about is Emmitt Smith's rushing record. With an extra game now Peterson and Gore have more opportunities to catch him. I wish Peterson and Gore would retire and I wish they would retire soon. Getting a little to close to Emmitt's record. Adding another game gives them a better chance.

Also on a non Emmitt thought, I think it's a bad idea for an extra game due to injury and wear and tear on the players.

I agree that it would be nice to protect Emmitt's record, but Payton while in a 16 game season broke Jim Browns record done in a 12 game season. Peterson at his current yards per season the past couple of seasons would need 4 more years to break Emmitt's record and with 15 seasons in I seriously doubt he'll be around for 4 more seasons. Gore at current pace would also need 4 more seasons to break his record and being a 16 game vet I also seriously doubt he'll be around for 4 more years. Both Peterson and Gore are free agents and the lions and jets have made no effort to resign either and no teams have shown any interest in either.
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[gjkoeppen]

I appreciate your comments and your opinion, but doesnt change the fact that we are here now and NFL owners voted in December on a "scheduling formula" for a 17-game season, and an 18 game season is looming.

I think and I could be wrong, that the NFL will find they made a mistake on expanding the schedule. The reason I say this is there are more and more people who can no longer afford tickers for 16 games and going to 17 and 18 they find more and more empty seats. Businesses buy up some and hand them out as perks to potential clients but they can't or won't buy up as many that won't get sold because of price for the average Joe.

Before this current situation in the country I remember talking to this guy at happy hour one day where he asked his family which they wanted. The choices were once every couple of years during the summer they rented this small cottage on a lake for a week or getting tickers to a game for the family that included parking and food and drink at the game. He said that he told the family if they choose the game that they won't be any vacations for 4 years because the game actually cost more than the cottage so money that he would put away for that would have to take longer to save. The family chose the cottage. because they said they can watch the game on TV. or on the internet if the game doesn't sell out. Things like that will happen more with more games and higher ticket prices.

 

[Typhus]

I think and I could be wrong, that the NFL will find they made a mistake on expanding the schedule. The reason I say this is there are more and more people who can no longer afford tickers for 16 games and going to 17 and 18 they find more and more empty seats. Businesses buy up some and hand them out as perks to potential clients but they can't or won't buy up as many that won't get sold because of price for the average Joe.

Before this current situation in the country I remember talking to this guy at happy hour one day where he asked his family which they wanted. The choices were once every couple of years during the summer they rented this small cottage on a lake for a week or getting tickers to a game for the family that included parking and food and drink at the game. He said that he told the family if they choose the game that they won't be any vacations for 4 years because the game actually cost more than the cottage so money that he would put away for that would have to take longer to save. The family chose the cottage. because they said they can watch the game on TV. or on the internet if the game doesn't sell out. Things like that will happen more with more games and higher ticket prices.

Its a business venture that is for sure, and great analogy.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

I love NFL football, the more real NFL games the better.

 

[CowboyRoy]

It just seems like injuries have skyrocketed since all these "safety" efforts.

I dont think a lot of guys are in great shape anymore. Especially last year with Covid I think people sat around wondering about the season and came in way out of shape.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I love the removal of the 2 ps games. In fact, I’m all for getting rid of all ps games! If they did that, maybe an 18 game season would work with 2-3 bye weeks. I also like the added roster spots. This league could afford 60 man rosters.

3 buy weeks is fine. Extend the season. Every buy week is like extending a week. 2 extra games and 3 buy weeks extends the season 5 weeks. More TV revenue, more weeks of games.

 

[Risen Star]

3 buy weeks is fine. Extend the season. Every buy week is like extending a week. 2 extra games and 3 buy weeks extends the season 5 weeks. More TV revenue, more weeks of games.

I wouldn't bye the Sunday ticket if they did that.

 

[Bobhaze]

I think and I could be wrong, that the NFL will find they made a mistake on expanding the schedule. The reason I say this is there are more and more people who can no longer afford tickers for 16 games and going to 17 and 18 they find more and more empty seats. Businesses buy up some and hand them out as perks to potential clients but they can't or won't buy up as many that won't get sold because of price for the average Joe.

Before this current situation in the country I remember talking to this guy at happy hour one day where he asked his family which they wanted. The choices were once every couple of years during the summer they rented this small cottage on a lake for a week or getting tickers to a game for the family that included parking and food and drink at the game. He said that he told the family if they choose the game that they won't be any vacations for 4 years because the game actually cost more than the cottage so money that he would put away for that would have to take longer to save. The family chose the cottage. because they said they can watch the game on TV. or on the internet if the game doesn't sell out. Things like that will happen more with more games and higher ticket prices.

I agree. I will even say that “in person” fans are becoming less and less important to the NFL’s success formula, as evidenced by the increasing percentage of income coming straight from broadcasting rights. Obviously the NFL needs viewers to keep their success, but it appears the owners will continue squeezing the average ticket buying fan from being able to afford the product in-person.

The hierarchy of NFL fans in terms of importance to the owners goes something like this:

1. The TV viewer fans.
2. High dollar/corporate fans who buy luxury boxes or premium seating.
3. The average fan who buys a ticket to the game.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Records will be broken now that shouldn't be.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I wouldn't bye the Sunday ticket if they did that.

Do you think they will miss you?

Probably an excuse to increase the price.

 

[erod]

Stupid.

 

[Risen Star]

Do you think they will miss you?

Probably an excuse to increase the price.

They may regret it if loyal customers begin to say goodbuy.

 

[gjkoeppen]

I agree. I will even say that “in person” fans are becoming less and less important to the NFL’s success formula, as evidenced by the increasing percentage of income coming straight from broadcasting rights. Obviously the NFL needs viewers to keep their success, but it appears the owners will continue squeezing the average ticket buying fan from being able to afford the product in-person.

The hierarchy of NFL fans in terms of importance to the owners goes something like this:

1. The TV viewer fans.
2. High dollar/corporate fans who buy luxury boxes or premium seating.
3. The average fan who buys a ticket to the game.

What you said is true but not just this past season but even last 2 seasons the viewership numbers on TV has dropped. Nobody knows for sure, but I'll bet those new contracts have a clause like they had when the XFL started and that was if viewership drops to a set amount the contracts were voided. That happened and the XFL could not survive on just live gates so it went under. I'm not saying that in a year the viewership of NFL games will drop to that kind of level, but if the networks keep seeing it drop they know that it will be harder and harder to get ad time sold doing NFL games. The NFL is crazy if they don't think business don't keep an eye out for that and start to rethink paying premium prices for NFL ad time. I read an article from the Wall Street Journal where FOX with their wrestling on Friday nights and their viewership numbers this past year have been steadily going down. I'll bet they are having problems selling ad time during that now. The NFL may have their money now but they absolutely need the fans to keep watching and there has been a downward trend the past couple of years. Until this past season, there was never a regular TV show that had more viewers than any NFL game but a couple of the games were beat out by a couple of regular shows. When the league keeps doing or allowing things that anger fans they will only put up with that for so long before they start to lose interest. Yes there will always be the hard core fans that will watch no matter what, but I don't think the hard core fans out number the more casual fans. I also read where NFL merchandise sales has been dropping for several years. That should tell the NFL that it's the fans that drive this league and they need to keep as many as they can happy. I will say that there are only a couple shows that I watch and spend a lot of time watching movies and have been watching the NFL every week for longer than I can remember but I will also say that in the past year I have not watch a couple of Thursday night and Sunday night games because the teams didn't interest me. I never thought that the day would come that if there was an NFL game on that I wouldn't watch it, but it's happened.
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[RonnieT24]

I dont think a lot of guys are in great shape anymore. Especially last year with Covid I think people sat around wondering about the season and came in way out of shape.

I don't think conditioning is the problem with injuries as much as the lack of contact during training camp. The body needs to build up to the physicality of the game. Guys need to learn how to fall, how to avoid getting legs tangled up all of that. With training came being largely two hand touch or flag football the first time some of these guys actually get hit to the ground is week one of the regular season. That is absolutely horse puckey. We do not naturally know how to go crashing to the ground with other large humans on top of us. It's not an instinctive skill. We have to learn it.. and once we do learn it we have to condition ourselves to reinforce it regularly. I'm afraid the NFLPA has traded tougher bodies and better games for the promise of longer careers. The problem of course is that it only results in longer careers for superstars. The rank and file players are pretty much disposable now for a number of reason. First and foremost being salary. As soon as they are vested and have to make vet minimum they are cast aside for the younger cheaper version of themselves. So while guys who get the big money deals get to play longer so teams can get return on their investment, 95% of guys are being shown the door even faster than before. Throw in that 95% of all stadiums are carpeted concrete and their bodies aint holdin up all that well to begin with.

 

[RonnieT24]

I wouldn't bye the Sunday ticket if they did that.

I saw what you did there...

 

[RonnieT24]

Records will be broken now that shouldn't be.

Records are made to be broken.. Does anyone thing any less of OJ Simpson's 2003 yard season just because a handful of guys have rushed for more yards in 16 games? Well maybe youngsters who are ignorant of the history of the game don't even know who OJ is aside from a dude acquitted of double murder and who after getting acquitted was dumb enough to go rob people of some damn memorabilia at gunpoint.. You really just can't fix stupid.. But I digress.

 

[gjkoeppen]

I wouldn't bye the Sunday ticket if they did that.

When I had a DirectV dish one day in July I got a call from them saying for just a $1 more per month I could have the ticket. I did it and before the season was over I got another call from them asking be if I wanted to signup for the next season for only $250 and that if I didn't take that I would have to pay full price to get it again. I said no thinking that someone would call back in the future offering a better price. Nobody did and the following year it was $349 for the ticket. I didn't get it and then about 10 days before the season started I got a call offering $275 for the ticket. I said no and told them that I originally got it for $12 and if they wanted to raise it to $24 and double that I would have no problem with that, but not for what they were offering.
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[CouchCoach]

All of the conjecture about what fans will do isn't even that to these owners. This is like Diehardblues cries in the wilderness to hold Booger accountable.

The ratings are falling, the end is near!!! They get an 80% bump in the rights to carry contracts.

Fans won't buy the tickets. Yes, they will just like addicts buy smack. The owners are the dealers and they know addicts.

They push the ticket prices, concessions, merch, parking and meet little resistance. Oh, the usual complaining that only corporations can afford tickets. I see a lot of people in those stands that don't look like the corporate types to me.

The NFL owners are the dog and the public is the tail. They've weathered lock outs, strikes, protests, controversies and throughout all of that, what did they get? Their way. Their business is healthier than it's ever been, even with a 4B downturn, they'll make that up and then some, already have in the broadcast rights.

17 games, 18 games, who cares? But what about the safety of the poor players we all cry? I could care less, they know the risks and they know who they play for, people that are just a little greedier than they are. The whole damn sport is nothing but a money grab so give me more games.

I am selfish, I like football, it's really the only sport that I do like so cancel the others and let's play year round. I haven't reached my saturation point yet and this is all about entertainment.

As far as the records, who cares? They do not differentiate between 12 game seasons and 16 game seasons in the NFL anymore than they do 10 seasons v 13 games seasons in college ball. Hell, a 1k yard season will be 59 yards a game. Give me 5 large men in front of me and I think I can do that. Might be 59 carries but I could do it!