The NFL's march toward an 18-game season is continuing, even if it was not front and center at this week's league meeting.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said shifting the schedule to 18 regular-season games and two preseason games was "not a focus" of the league meeting. But Goodell added that the league meeting did focus a lot on health and safety, and that health and safety is a key to making an 18-game season work.
"We'll continue to analyze it, we'll continue to discuss it, obviously, with the players," Goodell said. "We'll all do our work on that. A lot of these things affect whether you would go to 18, with all the health and safety issues."
Realistically, it seems unlikely that the NFL will stay with the current 17-game format forever. There's more money to be made with more games, and even if the players don't like the idea of more wear and tear on their bodies, they will like the idea of their own share of league revenues growing. The 18-game season isn't here yet, but it's probably not far off.
