NFL Eyes 18 games, two preseason games, one international game per week

PHOENIX – Robert Kraft, the visionary who bought the New England Patriots in the 1990s and turned them into an NFL dynasty, was envisioning the future of the NFL when he spoke to reporters Monday.

kraft, Definitely who gets it?He wants to see a future NFL that plays 18 regular season games, only two preseason games, includes two bye weeks, and yes, each team plays one of the international games.

There you have it… the NFL’s dream scenario for the 2030s.

Robert Kraft Predicts NFL Change

“I like it to be long-term in terms of the growth and development of the league because to keep our league healthy and to increase revenues, I think the preseason games are not the same as when we had the team,” Kraft told New England-area reporters during a break in the NFL’s annual meeting. “And I would personally like to see us have a second bye week, moving to 18 games, having real content, and being mindful of player safety.

“But it will also allow us to develop the game internationally. Every team in the league will play one game abroad… I think it will be much more exciting for the fans to play an extra game rather than having our pre-season games back to back.”

This is not a dream. This is a league that aspires to grow and make money by building a penthouse atop its already lofty spot at the top of American sports.

And we know this because commissioner Roger Goodell A similar vision of Kraft’s blueprint has been leaked often and frequently over the last few years — often before offering the necessary amount of moderation to temper expectations.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

NFL Vision is for Tomorrow, Not Today

“We’re not there yet,” Goodell previously said. Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara. “There’s more work to be done.”

It looks like NFL owners are doing some of that work in current meetings. And so the issue leaks to the media.

Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon wants an 18-game regular season, and she made that point clear in conversations with local Indianapolis-area reporters and during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.

He has complained in the past that 17 games does not give teams financial certainty from year to year, because some years teams play eight games at home, some years they play nine and some years one of those home games goes abroad to an international venue.

“I think as long as players want it — and I think they do, because it means more revenue and ultimately a better product — I think it’s reasonable and something we’ll work on,” Irsay-Gordon told the Indianapolis Star.

Adding an 18th game would require collective bargaining with the NFL Players Association. And the NFLPA has been vehemently opposed to adding an 18th game for the past several years.

But that same NFLPA has never vehemently opposed giving players more money and benefits. And when the idea of ​​expanded squads, which would mean more work for more players, was floated, no complaints were ever voiced.

Carlie Irsay-Gordon, owner of the Indianapolis Colts. (Photo: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

International Games A Work in Progress

So, do you smell a negotiation in the works?

Speaking hypothetically, one agent told OutKick that negotiations could begin with the idea that the NFL wants one more game. And then players would get an extra bye week, expanded rosters, higher minimum salaries, more post-retirement benefits and more free time in the offseason.

Beyond the extra play, placing 18 of them abroad (twice as many as planned for 2026) sounds easier than it actually is.

“We’re at the beginning of this process,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said. “We expand every year, we learn every year. We enter new markets and ensure that every move we make, every new market we enter, is successful.

“Obviously, it needs a lot of work to get to the stage you’re describing. I think the work we’re doing is to make sure the foundation is ready if that opportunity exists.”