Teams vote on various rule changes at the NFL Owners Meeting every year. This year, the Detroit Lions offered a proposal that involved a significant shift in the playoff seeding process.
However, the NFL tabled that vote at its March meeting. Now, the owners are set to vote on a tweaked version of what the Lions suggested sometime next week at another upcoming league meeting.
While many dislike the proposed rule change, others expect it to pass.
Warren Sharp Offers Insight on the Detroit Lions’ Disputed Proposed Rule Change
The Lions’ original proposal called for Wild Card teams to be seeded higher than a team that wins their division. This would be based on which team has the better record.
It began to gain momentum after Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown complained about his team being 14-2 and facing the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings in Week 18. The team that won would earn a bye and home-field advantage. The losing team would play on the road against a division winner. He felt that having a 14-win team on the road playing a 10-7 or 9-8 division winner at home makes no sense.
Now, NFL insider Warren Sharp has predicted the measure will pass according to his post on X.
“I predict the proposal to CHANGE PLAYOFF SEEDING will PASS the 2 key reasons are simple & hinge around the NFL wanting to increase ratings,” wrote Sharp in his post. “Playoff seeding by record & re-seeding after Rd 1 will….
1. make Wk18 more meaningful
2. make it more likely top-2 seeds reach Conf Champ.”
This proposal is expected to correct the current system that often places better teams at a disadvantage. For example, in 2024, the Minnesota Vikings were the first 14-win Wild Card team in history. They found themselves seeded by teams with worse records, like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who won the NFC South with a record of 10-7.
I predict the proposal to CHANGE PLAYOFF SEEDING will PASS
the 2 key reasons are simple & hinge around the NFL wanting to increase ratings
playoff seeding by record & re-seeding after Rd 1 will…
1. make Wk18 more meaningful
2. make it more likely top-2 seeds reach Conf Champ— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball)
The biggest complaint about the proposed change is that it devalues teams that win their divisions. In the current system, a team that wins its division is guaranteed a top-four seed.
Some believe the league thinks this new system will prevent teams from resting their starters in Weeks 17 and 18. Others believe this would re-seed teams based on their overall record, making things fairer.
For example, if the new rule had been in place in 2024, the 15-2 Lions would have played the 10-7 Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round instead of the 12-5 Washington Commanders.
Under the old rule, a team that has seeding locked up by Week 17 or 18 would likely rest its starters. However, if the new rule passes, a team might have to play the season out to avoid another team jumping over them in the standings.
Critics like former player Shannon Sharpe feel the whole point has always been winning your division. The new rules make that less meaningful. He used the Minnesota Vikings as an example. They were 14-3 in 2024, but the new rule would make them lower than a team that only won 10 games but didn’t win their division. He said he can’t wrap his head around a 14-win team not winning their division.
The league is constantly looking for ways to improve revenue and competitive fairness in the playoff system, so this change shouldn’t come as a surprise. However, if it passes, it will be interesting to see how it impacts teams in the 2025 season.