Why are there 17 regular season games in the NFL?

On 30 March 2021 at the Annual League Meeting, NFL team owners voted in favor of expanding the regular seasonmarking the first major change to the competition’s format in more than four decades. The modification was the first since 1978, when the league schedule was expanded from 14 games to 16. Up until just four years ago, the 16-game slate had been in use for 43 years.

“This is a monumental moment in NFL history,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated at the time. “The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world.”

How does NFL regular season work?

The league’s 32 teams are split into two conferences — the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The 16 teams in each conference are split into the East, North, South and West divisions – every division has four teams.

Every team plays 17 regular-season games with one bye week. Teams alternate seasons where they host nine regular-season games and one preseason game, or eight regular-season games and two preseason games. The AFC has nine regular season home games in the 2025 season.

All 32 teams play at least one international game once every eight years. The 2025 NFL season will kick off September 4 and ends Sunday 4 January 2026. Super Bowl LX will take place on Sunday 8 February 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

History made and the future secured

As per the Collective Bargaining Agreement from March 2020, In order to move to expand to 17 games the NFL first had to negotiate at least one new media contract. The new media deal was ratified and then announced on 18 March, thereby ushering in the era of 17 games.

Following the league’s drop in salary cap for the 2021 season as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is hoped that the expansion will partially lighten the effects of the cap drop and create new revenue. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted that the 17-game schedule should trigger the “media kicker” in the CBAwhich will increase the players’ share of all revenue to more than 48 percent.

Will the NFL ever expand to 18 games?

At the moment that seems unlikelythere will be no format changes until after the 2030 season. Any further expansion to the regular season schedule would have to be negotiated directly with the players.

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