The NFL Players Association has no intention of chasing an 18-game season, and that’s precisely the point.
In conversations around Super Bowl 60 week, NFLPA interim executive director David White delivered a message that sounded like indifference but reads more like strategy. Asked whether an 18-game schedule is inevitable, White was blunt: “Is it increasingly inevitable? The answer is absolutely not. It’s a point of negotiation.”
He went further, dismissing owner rhetoric as theater. “An arbitrary statement carries no weight,” White said. “It’s just an arbitrary statement. Free country, people can say what they like.”
Why the NFLPA Is Playing the Long Game on 18 Games
White’s posture stands in deliberate contrast to the league’s pressure campaign. Patriots owner Robert Kraft declared last week that teams will “push like the dickens” for international expansion tied to an 18-game format, framing it as a foregone conclusion. Commissioner Roger Goodell walked that back at his annual press conference, saying expansion is “not a given” and that formal discussions haven’t begun.
But the NFLPA isn’t waiting for formal discussions. They’re refusing to engage entirely.
“I don’t think the union is in any rush or player membership is in a rush to open that deal,” NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. “If the league wants to get in a situation where they want to have conversations, that would be something we could open our ears to, but we’re not being proactive in that.”
The language matters. “Open our ears to” suggests passive reception, not pursuit. “Not being proactive” frames any future talks as owner-initiated. This is a union signaling that anyone who wants an 18th game can come find them, checkbook in hand.
And the players themselves? “It’s not something that the players are excited about or really trying to press for,” Reeves-Maybin said.
That apparent lack of enthusiasm is leverage disguised as apathy. The current CBA runs through 2030, giving players four years to wait for owners to sweeten their offer rather than negotiating from urgency.
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The union learned this lesson the hard way. In 2020, the NFLPA approved a CBA extension that added a 17th game, expanded playoffs, and modified revenue sharing. The vote passed 1,019-959, with significant player backlash. Stars like Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, and J.J. Watt publicly opposed the deal, and the narrow margin exposed divisions within the membership over the terms.
This time, Reeves-Maybin emphasized position. “We always want to position ourselves to be in a position of strength,” he said. “And we don’t want to operate from a weak standpoint.”
What Players Would Need to Say Yes
The price for an 18th game will be substantial. According to reports, the NFLPA could seek a second bye week, expanded rosters, modified offseason workout schedules, and a larger slice of league revenue. The current CBA gives players between 48% and 48.8% of revenues. NBA players, by comparison, receive 51% of basketball-related income under their CBA.
Seattle Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, set to play in Sunday’s Super Bowl, acknowledged the calculus during media availability. “For the 18th game to happen, there’s obviously going to be some negotiation,” Kupp said. “There’s some things, give and take. If the 18th game is on the table, there’s going to have to be some talks about what makes that worth it to the players.”
Goodell, for his part, identified player safety concerns, competitive balance, potential schedule changes including two bye weeks, and roster expansion as issues requiring discussion. That list alone suggests the league knows this won’t come cheap.
An ESPN survey of players in 2024 found only 46% supported an 18-game season with stipulations, while 19% were completely opposed. That split explains why the NFLPA feels no pressure to accelerate talks. Players aren’t clamoring for more regular-season football. They’re calculating what more regular-season football should cost.
Ryan Kelly, the Colts center and NFLPA executive committee member, captured the divide during that 2024 survey cycle: “Eighteen games sounds great when Roger’s on the Pat McAfee Show. Until you’re the one that’s going out there and putting the helmet on for 18 of those games, then come talk to me.”
The NFLPA is also navigating a leadership transition. The union will vote on a new president in March 2026. Reeves-Maybin, who took over from JC Tretter in 2024, has emphasized stability and member trust as priorities. Rushing into high-stakes CBA negotiations during that transition would be poor timing.
So the union waits. Let the owners talk about inevitability. Let Goodell float ideas on podcast appearances. Let Kraft tie 18 games to international growth and labor peace. None of it moves the needle until someone sits across the table with concessions meaningful enough to bring 50% of the membership along.
The 18-game season will happen eventually. The NFL always gets what it wants. But the NFLPA has learned that “eventually” is a negotiating tool, and they’re using it.
