An 18-Game Schedule And Other Changes the NFL Should Adopt

The National Football League is reportedly considering reviving the possibility of an 18-game regular season.

Frankly, it’s an idea that is long overdue.

Kill the preseason. Who needs it? College football doesn’t have it; why do the pros except to charge full price admissions for games designed at best to figure out who the third string quarterback will be and are forgotten.

In essence, exchange 20 games for 18. If coaches and prospects believe it is absolutely imperative to have a preseason game (note, ONE), then schedule them at as many neutral sites as possible. Not only will the season ticket holder not be extorted in to paying full price for a substandard game, but such an arrangement would give NFL exposure to the heartland or foreign audiences or the nostalgia that would come with not just playing in Canton, Ohio, but possibly the Philadelphia Eagles returning to Franklin Field or the Dallas Cowboys to the Cotton Bowl.

The union has rejected the idea of an 18-game schedule because of player safety. But ask yourself, is the Super Bowl played with nothing but second stringers?

No.

The United States Football League played an 18-game schedule. In the heat of summer and on astroturf fields.

Was the injury factor significantly higher than the NFL? In fact, players eagerly leapt to the USFL from the NFL.