By Dillon Flanigan
Sports Editor
For the fourth season in a row, each team in the National Football League, NFL, has played 17 regular season games. This change brought about the reduction of preseason games from four to three, although the season is longer.
The fourth and final preseason game, a yearly rivalry game that changes location year after year, was replaced with a bye-week as the season was extended by a week in January. With the new format in place, the home and home continue with some teams but is not as guaranteed as it once was.
In March of 2020, a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL Players Association and the owners instituted the length of the season. This was just one of several new changes that included an expanded playoff format, from 12 teams to 14.
According to Jacob Camenker of ‘The Sporting News,’ and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the reason was financially motivated.
The 17-game schedule, an increase of the standard 16 game season, would go into effect for the 2022 season. However, due to the pandemic, teams lost revenue as the public health emergency kept fans from filling seats.
An additional regular season home game will generate millions of dollars in gate receipts. This does not even include the television contracts that bring in an additional several million per game.
In theory, a trade of one additional regular season game for one less preseason game may not be a bad idea. Historically, many starters and backups have not played in the final preseason game, allowing teams to rest players before the games count.
But are more games better? Football is a violent sport; injuries can happen without taking a hit. By extending the season even by one week, we are putting the players at a greater risk of injury.
Over the last decade, there have been great strides in the research of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. There is no real way of knowing who has this until after one’s death. Nevertheless, in 2022 the NFL allowed teams to wear Guardian Caps.
A Guardian Cap is a soft-shell pad that covers the outside of a football helmet and reduces the impact of a helmet-to-helmet collision. The restrictions on these caps are being loosened to allow the players to wear these in games.
In a story published last week by the New York Times, Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson stated wearing the Guardian Cap was a “no-brainer.”
The attempt to protect players’ long-term mental health is skewed by the increase of games.
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VOL. 64- ISSUE 1
