NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says expanding the regular season to 18 games is ‘not a given’

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This article was published 02/02/2026 (234 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Not so fast on an 18-game NFL season.

A week after Patriots owner Robert Kraft made it seem inevitable, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said expanding the regular season to 18 games is “not a given.”

“We have not had any formal discussions about it and, frankly, very little, if any, informal conversations,” Goodell said Monday at his annual state of the NFL news conference ahead of the Super Bowl. “I’ve heard people talk about it in the context. It is not a given that we will do that. It’s not something we assume will happen. It’s something we want to talk about with the union leadership.”

Last Tuesday, Kraft made it seem 18 games was a foregone conclusion.

“I want to tell you guys that we’re going to push like the dickens now to make international (games) more important with us,” Kraft told 98.5 FM last week. ”Every team will go to 18 (regular-season games) and two (preseason games) and eliminate one of the preseason games, and every team every year will play one game overseas.”

Clearly, word reached Goodell.

He mentioned that the NFL Players Association will be going through a leadership transition and that the conversation will be complex. Goodell pointed out player safety concerns, competitive issues, the potential need to add another bye and roster sizes as areas that have to be addressed through collective bargaining.

The current CBA between the NFL and its players’ union expires in 2030.

“As (the NFLPA) determines their priorities, we are doing the same at the ownership level so that when we get together, we can address these issues together,” Goodell said.

The momentum for an 18th game took off when Goodell made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show at the 2024 NFL draft in Detroit and said: “I’d rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season (game) any day, that’s just picking quality. If we got to 18 (regular season) and two (preseason), that’s not an unreasonable thing.”

He’s walked it back previously but not to this point.

The NFL added a 17th game in 2021 in the most recent CBA.

Seattle Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp hinted Monday night that owners would have to give up a bigger piece of the financial pie to get an 18th done.

“For the 18th game to happen, there’s obviously going to be some negotiation,” Kupp said. “There’s some things, give and take. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things. 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. And we’ll get to that point. We’ll cross that bridge.”

Tisch-Epstein

The NFL will look into New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and his association with Jeffrey Epstein after his name showed up more than 400 times in files released by the U.S. Justice Department regarding Epstein.

“Absolutely we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said. “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the (league personal conduct) policy. I think we’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”

Tisch said last week he knew Epstein and that they “exchanged emails about adult women” and “discussed movies, philanthropy and investments.” But Tisch, 76, denied going to Epstein’s island and was never charged in the investigation.

Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

The documents were disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure that requires the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell.

International games

The NFL will play its first regular-season game ever in France next season with the New Orleans Saints set to travel to Paris later this year and the league will also head back to Mexico City for the first time since 2022, increasing the total of international games to nine in 2026.

The league announced the plans to play a game at the Stade de France next season in addition to a multiyear deal to keep playing regular-season games at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and a game to be played in Mexico City in December.

Goodell said 16 international games remains the goal.

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AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long contributed.

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