When Did the NFL Switch to 16 Games?

A look at the history of the NFL regular season and how it has evolved over time.

Introduction

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 NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season.

The NFL increased to 18 teams with the addition of the Boston Braves (now the Washington Redskins) and Dayton Triangles (now the New York Jets) in 1921, and then fluctuated between 14 and 20 teams until 1932, when it reached its current size of 32 teams with the addition of several expansion franchises.

The Early Days of the NFL

The National Football League was founded in 1920, and for its first 12 years, it had only 10 games on the schedule. In 1932, the NFL expanded to 13 games; in 1933, it expanded to 14 games; and in 1934, it finally reached the 16-game regular season that we know today.

Not all fans were happy about this final expansion. After all, more games meant more injuries and more wear and tear on players’ bodies. But with more games came more revenue, and that was hard for owners to resist.

In recent years, the NFL has toyed with the idea of expanding the regular season even further. In 2012, the league proposed adding two more games to the schedule (for a total of 18), but that proposal was met with so much opposition from players and coaches that it was ultimately dropped.

For now, 16 games is enough for the NFL – but who knows what the future may hold?

The First Super Bowl

The NFL switch to 16 games came about in 1978 when the league expanded its playoffs to include a total of 10 teams. This move was necessitated by the massive success of the first Super Bowl, which was held in 1967. The game between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs was so popular that it sparked a bidding war between NBC and CBS for the rights to air the game. The two networks ended up paying a combined $9 million for the rights, which was an unprecedented amount of money at the time.

The success of the first Super Bowl led to a significant increase in interest in professional football, and attendance at games rose dramatically. In order to accommodate this increased interest, the NFL decided to expand its playoffs from 8 teams to 10 teams. This expansion meant that each team would now play 16 regular season games instead of 14. The NFL has used this 16-game format ever since, and it is now considered the standard for professional football leagues around the world.

The Move to 16 Games

The NFL moved to a 16-game regular season schedule in 1978. Before that, the league had a 14-game schedule that was in place since 1961.

The NFL decided to switch to 16 games for a number of reasons. chief among them was that the league felt that it needed to generate more revenue. With 16 games, the NFL could sell more tickets and bring in more money from television rights deals.

The players were also on board with the move to 16 games. They felt that they needed to play more games to earn their salaries, and they also liked the idea ofgenerating more revenue for the league. The owners and the players hashing out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in 1977, which included the switch to 16 games.

The Impact of 16 Games

The NFL switch to 16 games had a profound impact on the league. For one, it meant that teams would be playing more of their divisional rivals, which would lead to more rivalries and more intense competition. It also meant that teams would have to be more balanced and less reliant on any one player or unit. Finally, it meant that the playoffs would be more wide open, with more teams having a chance to make a run at the Lombardi Trophy.

Conclusion

It is universally accepted that the NFL switched to a 16 game regular season in 1978. This is when the league expanded from 14 to 16 games. Prior to this, there were four preseason games and 14 regular season games.