NFLPA has had very high level talks with NFL about 18-game regular seaso

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The po sibility of an 18-game regular season in the NFL seems to be becoming more and more likely.The NFL Players A sociation has had discu sions with the NFL about expanding the regular season by a game, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell ."We have talked at a very, very, very high level superficially, with a recognition about, Yeah, this is something that we should be talking about. And we should really kick the tires and understand what else goes into that decision-making proce s," Howell said.However, Howell noted that there are still some obstacles to overcome and that the two parties haven't reached a formal stage of negotiations to add an 18th game to the regular season.ADVERTISEMENT "Where does the 18th game come from? I think the foregone conclusion is well, you just grab it, like, in what would otherwise be preseason games in August. You play it forward," Howell said. "But these are details that really need to be fleshed out. But, again, there are other economic, health and safety matters that also need to be clear to our members before theres ever an agreement about an 18th game."Even though discu sions about adding a game to the regular Kolby Mack Jersey season haven't reached the formal level, Howell's comments are the first time that the NFLPA has shown a willingne s to add an 18th game. NFL Commi sioner Roger Goodell that he'd like to see the league add an 18th regular-season game at some point, saying the league is thinking about it in a "long-range context" as it would likely mean a shorter preseason."We think that's a good trade," Goodell told reporters at league meetings in May. "Le s preseason games and more regular-season games, most everybody would think that's beneficial."Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave his support to the idea when asked about it during the league meetings. New York Giants owner John Mara shared some reservations about the idea, though he said that most of the other owners want another game added to the regular-season slate.2024 NFL Schedule Release: FOX President Mike Mulvihill on Proce s, Evolution of the Schedule & more Howell told the Washington Post that he plans to bring up the matter with players during upcoming meetings. He shared that the NFLPA could work out a deal to add an 18th game to the regular season before the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires in 2030 if players are on board."The simple fact of the matter is when you have a growing enterprise and there are opportunities within that intervening period of time where progre s could be made and you could tweak the existing CBA legal document, why wouldnt you want to do that?" Howell told the Washington Post. "So whether its field surface, whether its the offseason schedule, if you want to call that formal I call it bargaining. I call it amendments. I call it updates to what is now a living document called a CBA. Yeah, I want to be able to have our membership in a position to jump on it when we can, not wait until their playing days are done and its like you go through the cycle all over again."The NFL currently doesn't have the power to add an 18th game to the regular-season schedule without the NFLPA's approval in the current CBA. When the last CBA was agreed upon in 2020, the league got the option to extend the regular season to 17 games starting in 2021. It exercised that option ahead of the 2021 season. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily. Marcus Stripling Jersey