Goodell, owners discuss adding 17th game
More on the meetings
Goodell broached the subject at the owners' meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta. The basic premise would be to eliminate one preseason game, bringing that number down to three, and add on one regular season game.
Since most starters and veterans play sparingly the first few preseason games, the move would likely not have an impact on a team's ability to prepare for the regular season. With the odd number of regular season games, the conferences would alternate between its teams hosting nine games in a season and its teams hosting eight games.
The move could also have the added benefit of increasing league revenues, which might make it easier for players and owners to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. On Tuesday, the owners opted out of the current labor deal, which means that the CBA now runs through 2010, not 2012. If no new agreement is reached, the 2008 and 2009 seasons would be played under the current terms, the 2010 season would be an uncapped year, and there would be no agreement covering the 2011 season.
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