NFL may expand season, cut preseason games
More playoffs means more money, which the NFL is interested in.
NFL players and owners are open to cutting the preseason short in order to expand the playoffs.
The proposed changes would expand the playoff field from 12 teams to 14 teams, would cut the preseason to three games from its current four, and expand the regular season to 17 or 18 games instead of its current 16.
"What you have is much higher TV ratings for the playoffs than you do the regular season and certainly the preseason," Mike Ozanian, the co-host of Forbes SportsMoney, told FOX Business' "Cavuto: Coast to Coast." "So if they're able to add another round of playoffs, it's going to be far more lucrative to the league."
If they're able to add another round of playoffs, it's going to be far more lucrative to the league.
Ozanian said all of this debate is tied into the collective bargaining agreement, which the league hopes to finish before 2022 because that's when all the TV deals expire.
However, many of the NFL players do not want to play more games, but they do want the games they play to count more.
"They just went through a big concussion settlement, so from a [public relations] standpoint, it would be very hard for the league to push through more games where the likelihood for injury would be even greater," Ozanian said.
It would be very hard for the league to push through more games where the likelihood for injury would be even greater.
While the coaches tend to like preseason games, national TV money gets shared among all teams.
"This is all about increasing that $8 billion without extending the regular season," Ozanian said. "And playoffs are the way to go."
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In 2018, the NFL's profits added up to $16 billion.