NFL Owners Proposed Decision to Increase Season to 18 Games is a Bad One | Thebigtip

I love the National Football League, always have and, probably, always will. The NFL has been the best run league on the planet. Through the last couple decades the NFL’s popularity has grown more than any other sport   in the USA and it is has become a multi-billion dollar entity. Credit the NFL owners and commissioners for not standing pat as they strive to find ways to constantly improve. Every year, the 32  team owners get together for meetings to discuss improvements to make the game better. However, they are on the verge of making one of their worst decisions ever.

At the recent league meetings in Atlanta, the owners discussed increasing the regular season from 16 to 18 games.  As a part of the existing labor agreement, the owners can implement the change, but have not to this point.  These ultra-rich bigwigs, most of whom have never suited up on an NFL team, seem to be fixated on the money that they can make by the increase. They see the increased revenue a longer season will bring as a way to possibly avoid the work stoppage that looms on the horizon, once the existing labor agreement expires at the end of this season. That may very well be true. The increased revenue would be helpful but, in my opinion, at the detriment of the players, their teams and the overall game on the field.

Playing more games means more injuries. This is an indisputable fact. The NFL is constantly talking about ways to reduce the number and severity of injuries yet will be putting their players at greater risk of injury by increasing number of games. As it is now, many teams limp into the postseason. We always hear the season is “a war of attrition” because injuries sideline so many players. It is often the healthiest team that wins games at year’s end.   This increase in the number of regular season games will not help that situation.

The number of preseason games will be reduced from four to two games, to keep the overall number at 20.   In reality, the 18 game season will become, in essence, a 20 game season, meaning the players will play 25% more games than they do now.  Why do I say that? The NFL’s preseason has always been the time when draftees and free agents make their mark and earn their jobs. Under the new system, that playing time will be taken by first team guys rushing to get ready for the regular season.                         

So, we will have a system where starters are at greater risk of injury and their back-up will not have the skill level or experience necessary to fill in adequately, which will hurt the overall game we see on the field. 
I have not heard a single NFL player say he’s in favor of the increase regardless of the extra money they will make. As a group, NFL players have been shown to love money and this outcry, despite the extra cash, is telling. To the players, the notion of an 18 game season is a scary proposition. These men play a violent game and die, on average, ten years before the typical US male. Many are left with debilitating injuries once their careers end.  Many of them see this as possibly shortening their careers.

This will adversely affect the game of NFL football. As it stands now, the press and fans complain about superstars sitting on the bench rather than playing in late season games for fear of injury. The fact the league wants to add two games to the regular season means fans will have to continue to pay top dollar to see their teams play, even though the highest paid stars of the game may be sitting on the bench.

The NFL’s changes normally make sense to me and clearly benefit the game and the players. This one, however, does not. Perhaps, they think this is the only way to avoid a lockout once the labor agreement ends. Perhaps, they are just greedy, I do not know. What I do know is that this proposal will hurt the NFL’s product and put players at risk and the owners need to do the right thing and keep the season at 16 games.

Steve Salisbury lived in Melbourne for 10 years where he co-hosted "Born in the USA" at 1116SEN for 5 years. He now lives in Northern California with wife and three young children but appears Wednesday morning's on "Hungry for Sport" with Kevin Bartlett. Since moving back to the US, he has hosted talk shows for 710ESPN-Los Angeles, XTRA Sports 860-San Francisco and Sports 1140-in Sacramento. Starting in September 2010, Steve will be hosting "Steak and Popson" with former San Francisco 49er, Ted Popson, evenings, for AM950 KAHI in Sacramento, CA.
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