NFL owners in favor of 18th regular-season game, but key caveat added as well

The 2026 NFL owners meetings successful Phoenix are underway, and among the discussions is bound to beryllium whether an 18th regular-season crippled should beryllium added to the docket astatine immoderate point. 

Two owners, New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft and Indianapolis Colts’ Carlie Irsay-Gordon, are each for it. 

However, determination is simply a cardinal caveat Kraft would beryllium successful place. 

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Robert Kraft and Carlie Irsay-Gordon are 2 NFL owners who judge an 18th crippled could beryllium added, but with caveats. (Getty Images)

Kraft reportedly told media successful Phoenix that helium is successful favour of an 18th regular-season game, but helium wants determination to beryllium a 2nd bye week for teams alternatively of the modular 1 week. 

Also, Kraft’s "conditions," according to The33rdTeam’s Ari Meirov was removing 1 preseason game, which brings the full to 2 per season, and making each azygous NFL squad play astatine slightest 1 planetary crippled each season. 

As for Irsay-Gordon, she pointed to the information that not each squad gets an adjacent fig of location games successful today’s NFL nether a 17-game schedule. But she besides agrees with Kraft that preseason should beryllium shortened. 

BILLS STAR DION DAWKINS EXPLAINS HIS ‘COUNTER’ TO POTENTIAL NFL 18TH GAME: ‘CAREERS ARE ONLY GETTING SHORTER’

"Preseason, is, arsenic acold arsenic the instrumentality merchandise goes, I cognize the commissioner’s been unfastened that it’s not the champion merchandise that we have," she explained, per the Indianapolis Star. "I would say, for improvement of our team, I don’t deliberation we tin get escaped of it."

While owners privation it, the NFL Players’ Association noted astatine the Super Bowl earlier this twelvemonth that their broadside has "no appetite" for an 18th regular-season game. 

New England Patriots proprietor Robert Kraft smiles earlier the NFL 2025 crippled against the Tennessee Titans astatine Nissan Stadium successful Nashville, Tennessee, connected Oct. 19. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Now that JC Tretter was elected the PA’s enforcement director, negotiations astir an 18th game, arsenic good arsenic a caller media rights contract, could beryllium ongoing. While the TV woody could beryllium changed earlier the commencement of the 2026 season, Pro Football Talk reported that immoderate enactment for the league to instrumentality an 18th crippled could travel arsenic soon arsenic the 2027 campaign. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has noted successful the past that the 18th crippled is "not a given," though owners similar Kraft, Irsay, and apt others spot it coming sooner than later. 

Buffalo Bills near tackle Dion Dawkins said successful a caller interrogation to Fox News Digital that helium feels "it’s going to hap either way."

He conscionable wants to marque definite players similar himself are taken attraction of decently if that is the case, particularly from a fiscal lens.

Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills runs onto the tract anterior to an NFL shot crippled against the Kansas City Chiefs astatine Highmark Stadium connected Nov. 2, 2025 successful Orchard Park, New York. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

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"Our contracts aren't afloat guaranteed. There's bully players, there's mean players, there's players that are conscionable making it by. As agelong arsenic guys are taken attraction of the mode they're expected to, this is our life. We're athletes, and not that I’m present for it, it's going to hap either mode – [an] 18th game. And past 20 years later, conjecture what? We're talking astir a 19th, past we'll beryllium talking astir a 20th.… Then it's like, 'Yeah, we are combat athletes each twelvemonth long.' But who knows."

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