Is the NFL Season 17 Games?
Contents
The NFL season is typically 17 weeks long, but it can vary depending on the year. For example, the 2020 season was shortened to 16 weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Introduction
The National Football League (NFL) regular season is seventeen weeks long, with each team playing sixteen games and having one bye week. The season typically begins on the Thursday night following Labor Day, and ends on New Year’s Day. The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion.
The NFL Season is 17 Games
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world, the wealthiest professional sport league by revenue, and the sport league with the most valuable teams. The regular season runs during fall and winter, from September to December. Each team plays 16 games out of a 17-game schedule (one bye week). Traditionally, most NFL teams play one or two preseason games before the regular season starts.
The NFL’s 17-game regular season schedule was announced on May 7, 2020. The 2021 NFL regular season will begin on September 9, 2021 and end on January 9, 2022. All teams will play 17 regular season games in 2021.
The Pros of a 17 Game Season
The NFL is reportedly considering adding two additional regular-season games to the schedule, which would take the league from 16 to 18 games.
The proposal, which would need approval from the NFL Players Association, would reportedly add one game to each team’s schedule while also eliminating two preseason games.
The pros of a 17 game NFL season are that it would:
1. Create more revenue for the NFL and its teams
2. More inventory for TV networks showing NFL games
3. Give fans more of what they want – more regular season football games to watch
4. After a long offseason, the additional 2 games would help tide over diehard fans until the playoffs start
5. More opportunities for players to showcase their skills and increase their earnings potential through performance-based bonuses and other player-friendly compensation structures built into their contracts
The cons of a 17 game NFL season are that it would:
1. Increase the risk of player injuries, as they would be playing more football over the course of a year
2. Could negatively impact the quality of play on the field, as players could be more tired over the course of a longer season
3. Lessen the importance of each individual regular season game, as there would be more of them and teams could afford to lose a few more games and still make the playoffs
4. Preseason games are important for young players trying to make an NFL roster, and eliminating two of them could make it harder for undrafted rookies or other fringe players to catch on with a team
The Cons of a 17 Game Season
The NFL proposed a new CBA which would add an additional two games to the regular season, bringing the total up to 17 games. The playoffs would remain the same, with only six teams from each conference qualifying. The regular season would start one week earlier, and bye weeks would be eliminated. Players are not happy about this proposal for a variety of reasons.
The players are already putting their bodies on the line every week, and adding two more games will only increase their risk of injury. They believe that 16 games is the perfect amount, and that any more than that is too much. The players also argue that they should be compensated more for playing 17 games. They point out that they are the ones putting their health on the line, and they should be fairly compensated for it.
The owners argue that the players are paid handsomely already, and that they should be grateful for the opportunity to play more football. They also argue that the fans want to see more football, and that this extra game will only serve to give them what they want. While the fans may want to see more football, it is ultimately up to the players to decide whether or not they want to play more games. It remains to be seen whether or not the players will agree to this new CBA proposal.
Conclusion
After much discussion and research, it appears that the NFL season will indeed be 17 games long. This is a historic change for the league, and it will undoubtedly have a major impact on the way the game is played. There are still some details to be ironed out, but it seems like this is the direction the league is headed in.