Why the NFL Has 17 Games in Its Season

How many games are in an NFL season?
The NFL has 16 regular season games and four preseason games.

Introduction

The NFL has a long and storied history, dating back to its humble beginnings in the early 1900s. The league has seen many changes over the years, but one of the most significant changes came in 2017 when the NFL decided to add a 17th game to its regular season schedule.

There are a number of reasons why the NFL decided to add an extra game to its season. For one, it gives the league more flexibility in terms of scheduling. It also allows for more revenue potential, as each team now has an additional home game that can be sold to sponsors and fans. Finally, it gives the league a chance to showcase its product on a global stage, as the additional game will be played internationally each year.

The 17-game schedule does come with some drawbacks, however. For one, it puts an extra strain on player safety, as there is now one more week of wear and tear on their bodies. Additionally, it raises concerns about competitive balance, as teams that do well in the regular season now have a greater chance of making the playoffs and potentially winning the Super Bowl.

Despite these concerns, the NFL appears poised to stick with its new 17-game schedule for the foreseeable future. So far, it has been a success both on and off the field, and there is no reason to believe that will change anytime soon.

The History of the NFL

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 richest professional sport league by revenue, and the sport league by average player salary.

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 agreed to merge with the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, and effective from that season onwards the NFL is one of two conferences within the merged league, called the National Football League. With 32 teams in total, each team plays 16 games during their respective regular seasons. Most games are played on Sundays, with a Monday Night Football game typically held once per week.

The regular season begins in September and ends in December or early January. After the regular season, six teams from each conference compete in the playoffs: four divisional winners and two wild card teams. Wild card playoff games were introduced in 1975. The tournament culminates with a single game to determine each conference’s champion: the Super Bowl.

The Current NFL Season Format

The National Football League (NFL) regular season is currently set at 16 games per team, which the league has used since 1978. Prior to that, the NFL regular season was 14 games per team. So why did the NFL increase its regular season schedule? There are a few reasons.

First and foremost, more games means more revenue. More specifically, it means more ticket sales, merchandise sales, and television/advertising revenue. The NFL is a business, and like any other business, its primary goal is to make money. Adding two additional games to the schedule allows the league to do just that.

Another reason for the increase in games is that it gives fans more of what they want – more football! In today’s world of entertainment options, people have many choices and can be selective in how they spend their time and money. The NFL knows that its fans love football and by adding two additional games to the schedule, it’s giving them more of what they want.

So there you have it – a few reasons why the current NFL regular season schedule is set at 16 games per team. Will it always be this way? Only time will tell but for now, enjoy those extra two football games!

Why the NFL Has 17 Games in Its Season

The NFL has 17 games in its season because that is the number of games that it takes to crown a champion. The NFL season is structured so that each team plays 16 games and has one bye week. That leaves 17 weeks in the season.

To Make More Money

The simple answer to why the NFL has 17 games in its season is that it’s more profitable for the league to have more games. With 32 teams in the league, each playing 16 games, there are 512 total games in a season. If the NFL added just one more game to each team’s schedule, that would be an extra 16 games, or one extra game for every team in the league.

More games means more ticket sales, more television viewers, and more merchandise sold. It also means more advertising revenue and more opportunities for the league to sell sponsorships. In short, more games equals more money for the NFL.

It’s worth noting that not everyone is on board with the idea of a 17-game season. Some coaches and players have voiced concerns about the physical toll that an extra game would take on players’ bodies. There is also worry that adding an extra game could lead to even more injuries and shorten careers even further.

The NFL has not yet decided if it will add an extra game to the regular season schedule, but it seems likely that it will happen at some point in the future. For now, though, the league is sticking with 16 regular season games and four preseason games.

To Improve the Quality of the Game

The National Football League decided to add an additional game to the regular season schedule beginning in the 2021 season. The move comes as the league tries to address concerns about the quality of play.

In recent years, there have been increasing complaints from fans and even some players about the declining quality of play in the NFL. With an extra game added to the schedule, the league is hoping that teams will be forced to field their best players for a longer period of time and that this will lead to a better product on the field.

The NFL is not alone in this decision, as several other professional sports leagues have also added games to their schedules in an effort to improve the quality of play. However, the NFL is unique in that it is adding a game to its already long season. The hope is that this change will lead to improved play without putting too much strain on players’ bodies.

Conclusion

The NFL has more than enough time to add two regular-season games to its schedule without disrupting the preseason or pushing the Super Bowl into February. By doing so, the league could ease player concerns about the wear and tear of a longer season, while also reaping a financial windfall that would benefit everyone involved.