The NFL Has Announced An Official Decision On 17 Games
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 01: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks with the media during a press conference for Super Bowl 51 at the George R. Brown Convention Center on February 1, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
It's official: the NFL is adding a 17th regular-season game, starting as soon as this year. Yes, that means more football.
Lucky for us football fans, we already have a look at how the 17th-game schedule shakes out. The NFL will pair a team from the AFC against a team from the NFC and will determine such opponents by how the division standings finished the season before.
"The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same place within their division the previous season," the NFL announced. "The AFC was determined to be the home conference for the 17th game in 2021."
Notable 17th-game match-ups includes the Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens. Take a look at the full 17th-game schedule below, courtesy of the NFL.
Adding a 17th game means the regular-season will extend to 18 weeks. It will also reduce the preseason to three weeks, as opposed to four.
A 17-game schedule also means teams will no longer be able to finish the season with a .500 record. There will only be winning and losing records, barring any overtime ties.
Players probably won't like an extended season, but money talks. The NFL adding an extra week of games means more views and then more money. Team earnings should increase as a result.
The NFL's 17-game schedule will be implemented this upcoming season, and it looks like it's here to stay.
