Why Is There An Extra NFL Game This Season?

The NFL schedule for the 2020 season is out, and there are some interesting changes. One of the most notable is that there is an extra game this season. So, why is there an extra NFL game this season?

Introduction

The National Football League (NFL) is introducing an eighteenth regular season game for the 2020 season. This is in addition to the four preseason games and the sixteen regular season games that have been played in previous years. The eighteen game schedule will be adopted on a permanent basis starting in the 2021 season.

The NFL aims to increase revenue and popularity with this move. The current broadcast television contracts are worth a combined $4.96 billion per year, and are set to expire after the 2022 season. The NFL is hoping to increase this number by adding more games to the schedule that will be attractive to networks looking to bid on the new contract.

The players’ union has already ratified the new collective bargaining agreement, which includes provisions for increased player safety measures. These include increasing the minimum salary for players, and guaranteeing a certain amount of money for retired players.

The History of the NFL

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league. It was founded 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 the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, pitting the league’s two champions against each other.

The founding 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. NFL games are divided into four quarters, each lasting 15 minutes.

The first NFL game

On November 22, 1920, the first NFL game was played. The game was between the Chicago Bears and the Dayton Triangles. The Triangles won 14-0. There were only eleven players on each team in that first game.

How the NFL Season Works

The NFL regular season is typically 17 weeks long, with each team playing 16 games. But this year, there are 18 weeks in the season, and each team is playing 17 games. So why the extra game? Let’s take a look.

The regular season

The regular season of the National Football League (NFL) is the period of the year during which professional American football teams play sixteen (since 2007) regular season games, out of a total of eighteen each, and compete for the NFL Championship. It begins on the weekend following Labor Day (the first Monday in September in the United States), and ends 17 weeks later on the weekend after Thanksgiving Day. The regular season consists, typically, of each team playing 16 games against an array of opponents from within their own conference and four from outside their conference.

The playoffs

The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL’s champion. Six teams from each conference—the four division winners and two wild card teams—advance to the playoffs. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, the league’s championship game.

Why Is There an Extra Game This Season?

The NFL season is expanding by one extra game this season. This is to accommodate the growing popularity of the sport as well as to generate more revenue. The extra game means that each team will now play 17 regular season games instead of the usual 16. This also means that there will be more games on Thursday nights.

The NFL’s response to COVID-19

The NFL is adding an extra game to the regular season schedule in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new game will be played on January 3, 2021, and will be broadcast on NBC.

This marks the first time since 1967 that the NFL has added an extra game to the schedule. The league did so in order to make up for lost revenue from games that were postponed or canceled due to the pandemic.

The additional game will feature two teams that did not make the playoffs in 2020. It is unclear at this time which teams will be playing in the game.

The NFL has not yet announced how it will determine which teams will play in the additional game. However, it is likely that the league will use its current playoff format to choose the participants.

The NFL’s decision to add an extra game to the schedule has been met with criticism from some fans and commentators. They argue that the league is putting profits ahead of player safety by adding an additional week to an already long season.

Others have praised the NFL’s decision, arguing that it will provide an opportunity for more teams and players to compete for a championship.

Conclusion

The NFL has announced that there will be an extra game added to the end of the regular season, bringing the total number of games to 18. This is the first time since 1977 that the league has had an odd number of teams, and it has caused some confusion among fans.

The reason for the extra game is simple: there are now 32 teams in the NFL, which means that there can be no bye weeks during the season. By having an extra game, each team will have one week off during the season, ensuring that all teams are rested and ready for the playoffs.

While some fans may not like the idea of an extra game, it is important to remember that this will only happen once every 32 years (assuming no more teams are added to the NFL). So enjoy it while you can!