The NFL is "planning to expand the regular season" to 17 games in '21, a move that would "generate new revenue and could at least slightly soften an anticipated drop in the salary cap next year," according to sources cited by Pelissero & Rapoport of NFL.com. The league "must first negotiate at least one new media contract in order to make the move" to 17 games, as spelled out in the current CBA. The preseason "would be cut to either two or three games" and there "still would be one bye week per club, extending the total regular season to 18 weeks and pushing back the Super Bowl into the second week of February." Though there was "always support for making the move to 17 games sooner than later, a projected multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall caused by the COVID-19 pandemic increased the urgency of the situation" for both NFL owners and the NFLPA. Sources said that the cap is "still likely to drop significantly" in '21, but the 17th game as "part of a new media deal could boost it above" the estimated $175M floor. The union's share of all revenue "already was set to bump up" from 47% to 48% in '21, and the move to 17 games with a new media deal "triggers a 'media kicker' on top of it that further increases players' share." Going to 17 games also "would open up inventory for possible new neutral-site and international games" (NFL.com, 12/27).
