Extending the regular season to 18 games has been on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s mind for quite some time. Now he has once again emphasized his efforts.

It was only in the 2021 NFL season that the regular season was increased from 16 to 17 games per team.

However, the increase is said to be only an interim step. In the long term, Commissioner Roger Goodell is planning for each team to play 18 regular season games. He reiterated this once again on “The David Rubenstein Show”.

“I think if we focus on safety, 18 games are possible. As you know, we would cut one preseason game to make that happen. So we would stay within the 20-game framework,” explained the league boss.

After the number of preseason games has been gradually reduced and the number of regular-season games increased in recent years, “18 and two is now the logical step. However, we would only do this in consultation with the players”.

NFL International Games: Goodell would like to see 16 games outside the USA

In addition, Goodell again spoke about the plans to hold more International Games: “Last year there were five, next year there will probably be eight, which would be the highest number we have ever had. We hope that at some point in the next few years we will get to 16 games.”

For example, the 2025 season will see an NFL game played in Spain for the first time. It is also expected that Ireland will be awarded a regular season game. “Every time we take our game to a new market, the fans go crazy for it,” Goodell made clear.

The possibility of permanently relocating a franchise to Europe or another continent is also being discussed. But we’re not there yet. “We’ve talked about it a lot. And I think there are markets that would unquestionably support an NFL franchise,” said Goodell.