NFL owners discuss adding game to regular season, but put off voting for now
In this Feb. 3, 2020 file photo NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks during a news conference in Miami. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
NFL owners discussed the eventual implementation of a 17-game regular season but didn’t vote Wednesday on when the added regular season game would be introduced. The owners met virtually to discuss the expanded regular season and other topics, putting off a vote that could come in the next few weeks.
Goodell also said the league would invite vaccinated health care workers to Super Bowl LV in Tampa on Feb. 7 as a way to reward their service and help spread the word about COVID-19 vaccinations.
"We will use this as an opportunity to promote the importance of vaccination and appropriate health practices, including wearing masks in public settings," Goodell wrote in a letter to Rob Higgins, president of the Super Bowl Host Committee. "We all know that over the past year, these frontline workers have put their own lives at risk to the benefit of society and we owe them our ongoing gratitude."
No final decision has been made about how many fans will be allowed to attend the game at Raymond James Stadium.
Goodell said there was a thorough discussion on adding a regular season game for the first time since the 16-game schedule was adopted in 1978. Owners and the NFL Players Association signed off on a 17-game schedule during their Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations that concluded last March. It is possible the added game will be played as soon as the 2021 season.
The owners approved a scheduling formula for the 17-game season. AFC and NFC teams will alternate each year on nine home games in a season. The additional game will be an out-of-conference game based on the divisional order from the previous season.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
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