The next major battle between the NFL and its players is already taking shape, and it centers on a single number: 18. Even though the league only expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021, fresh speculation has surfaced as the 2025 season concludes that Commissioner Roger Goodell is ready to float another increase.

Goodell has stressed that nothing is official, framing it as a conversation he wants to have rather than a finalized proposal, but the mere suggestion has hit a wall of opposition. The pushback from the players is already here, and NFLPA interim director David White has made the union’s stance undeniable.

White has stated that the union has “no appetite for a regular season 18th game,” per reports.

This isn’t the first time David White has cooled expansion talk.

“The league has the right to bring any issue they want to the table and, presumably, to propose what they’re willing to give to receive what they want in negotiation, but we’ll see when that happens,” White said back in September 2025. “We haven’t talked about it yet, and it certainly is not inevitable and should not be presented as such.”

And realistically, even if Roger Goodell is thinking ahead, the league can’t move forward without NFLPA approval. For now, official discussions haven’t begun, and there are a few reasons why. Goodell himself explained the pause.

“It’s not something that we assume will happen. It is something that we want to talk about with the union leadership,” Goodell said. “As you know, they’re going into a transition, and hopefully that will get solidified this spring. And as they determine their priorities, we are doing the same on the ownership levels so that when we get together, we can address these issues together.”

Per Roger Goodell, the absence of a full-time NFLPA executive director has been a major factor in delaying talks. The union is expected to hire its next leader this spring, which could eventually open the door for more serious conversations. And if that happens, Goodell has already outlined the major hurdles: a second bye week, roster size, player safety, and competitive balance.

As it stands, teams play three preseason games followed by 17 regular-season games over 18 weeks, including one bye. While an 18-game season may not feel inevitable right now, comments from figures like the New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft have made it clear that the idea isn’t going away anytime soon.

Robert Kraft signals that an NFL expansion is inevitable

The momentum around an 18th regular-season game really picked up when Roger Goodell appeared on The Pat McAfee Show during the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. During that conversation, Goodell floated the idea of replacing a preseason game with an additional regular-season matchup. The logic, at least publicly, is straightforward: more meaningful games, less preseason filler.

Layered into that thinking is the belief that further NFL expansion, especially internationally, becomes easier with a longer regular season and more inventory to sell abroad. That’s where owners like Robert Kraft have leaned in. Kraft has framed the idea not as a hypothetical, but as an economic necessity for the league’s growth.

“And part of the reason is so we can continue to grow the cap and keep our labor happy because we’re sort of getting near the top here with the coverage; what, 93 of the top 100 programs on television are NFL games,” Kraft said. “Think about that. It’s really amazing.”

From a business standpoint, he’s not wrong. On paper, those numbers are staggering. But the league still faces a significant roadblock between Roger Goodell’s vision and an 18-game reality: the NFLPA.

Despite the union’s stance, Goodell successfully pushed the league to a 17-game schedule back in 2021. And since then, the NFL has steadily increased the number of international games each season. Expansion, in that sense, is clearly part of the long-term plan.

Still, when it comes to jumping to an 18-game regular season, the path isn’t nearly as clear. For now, inevitability feels more like owner optimism than negotiated reality.