How NFL Players Will Cash In on Another ‘$100 Billion Windfall’ After Roger Goodell’s 18-Game Regular Season Proposal

Jun 22, 2024 | 7:30 AM EDT

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The NFL’s $100 billion-plus media rights deal shook the gridiron in 2021, marking a giant leap of faith for the league. But hold on to your hats, because Roger Goodell’s latest proposal to expand the regular season to 18 games promises an even bigger payday for players.

On one hand, ESPN’s poll reveals adamant disagreements from players like Steelers safety DeShon Elliot who says, “They don’t pay us enough.” On the other, there are hoots and hollers for the NFL Commissioner who sees the 18 regular season games (and only two preseason games) as a zero-sum swap that would benefit the league. And by benefit, he means a lot, a lot of money!

Dive into this game-changing shift and discover how the NFL’s financial landscape is poised for a seismic transformation. Spoiler Alert: The numbers are staggering, and the implications? Absolutely game-changing.

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Joe Pompliano predicts a $100 Billion payday with the 18-game Regular Season Change

In Joe Pompliano’s latest edition of the Huddle Up newsletter, one fan asked about what would be the biggest sports business story for the NFL over the next five years. Pompliano’s answer is as electrifying as the man himself: “The biggest NFL story over the next few years will be a schedule redesign.”

Roger Goodell is 100% inclined towards adding an 18th regular season game by shortening the preseason, adding an extra bye week, and extending the playoffs (this means the Super Bowl falls on a 3-day weekend). The entrepreneur, being one of America’s fastest-growing personalities in sports, also resonates with Goodell’s thoughts and backs his stance with solid facts.

While this move has to be negotiated with players through NFLPA, Pompliano feels that players would agree to it for one solid reason: “They split revenue 50-50 with the league, meaning if the NFL makes more money, they make more money, too.”

“I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the renegotiation of the next CBA coincides with the date the NFL can opt out of its media rights deal,” the entrepreneur added in his latest video. Here’s the bigger picture! “And when you combine an 18-game regular season with all the one-off, special inventory that the NFL has built over the last few years (Christmas Day, Black Friday, etc.), my guess is that the NFL is looking at another $100 billion payday,” Pompliano predicts.

In 2019, before the NFL signed the jaw-dropping media rights deal, a local nighttime radio host, Kevin Hageland crushed some interesting numbers for fans based on the data from Association Press. Here’s what the financial breakdown looked like back then:

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KEY REVENUE INCREASES
National TV Contracts
Annual revenue	$5.65 billion
Additional three weeks (two games + one bye week	$996 million per year
Additional Home Game Revenue
Average ticket revenue per game	$8 million
In-stadium spending (parking, concessions, merchandise)	$2.25 million
Total per extra home game	$10.25 million
Total Additional Revenue Per Team
TV contracts per team	$31.125 million
One extra home game	$31.125 million
Total additional revenue per team per year	$41.375 million
League-wide additional revenue per year	$1.324 billion

Hageland noted that the league could significantly boost its revenue by $1.324 billion annually with an 18-game schedule, translating to $41.375 million per team. This expansion leverages increased ticket sales, media rights, and merchandise, making it a lucrative change for both the league and team owners.

Fast-forward to 2024, the short answer to the question ‘How much money can NFL Owners make with an 18-game schedule’ is short – the owners stand to make a LOT!

Joe Pompliano’s $100 billion prediction is as real as it gets. Whether it will be a ‘Super Bowl Monday Holiday’ or a ‘Super Bowl on President’s Day’, it’s a no-brainer here that it all boils down to the $$$$$…And of course, there’s more to it!

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Are you against the 18-game Regular Season? This might change your mind!

Roger Goodell’s proposal is grounded in pure common sense—playing three NFL games in 10 days is not healthy for any athlete, and this change aims to end that practice. Here’s what makes this proposal worthy:

Boosted Revenue Streams: An expanded season is all about monetary gain for players and owners – more games equals more money. Fox Business reported that the NFL brought in about $16 billion in revenue during the 2018 league year. Other reports indicate that the league’s goal is to earn $25 billion by 2027. With this change and Pompliano’s prediction combined, we’ve got even bigger numbers! This change could also offset the decline in ticket sales. Additional regular-season or playoff games on the annual slate mean more revenue from television, especially with the existing broadcasting deals.
Enhanced Fan Experience: More games keep fans engaged longer, providing extra opportunities to watch their favorite teams.
Fairer Scheduling: An 18-game season allows for more balanced schedules, reducing disparities in rest days and matchups against teams coming off byes.
Strategic Bye Weeks: Two well-placed bye weeks help reduce player fatigue and injury risk.
Meaningful Preseason Reduction: Cutting down on preseason games eliminates meaningless matches, making the schedule fairer for ticket-paying fans.
Perfect Super Bowl Timing: Aligning the Super Bowl with a holiday weekend, like Presidents’ Day, offers fans a day off after the big game.
Increased Roster Flexibility: Allowing more active game-day players and practice-squad promotions provides teams with greater depth and flexibility.

The proposal has also sparked significant disagreement among many athletes, and for many, it all comes down to money. Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly breaks it down, “If they said, ‘Hey, you guys get 70% of revenue and we’ll take 30 as owners,’ a lot of guys would sign up for that if you make $100 million playing quarterback [the current revenue split is approximately 52% to 48% in favor of owners].

Of the players surveyed by ESPN, 46% were in favor of an 18-game schedule with stipulations and 8% voted YES without stipulation. 19%, however, strongly disagree with regular-season expansion.

For many athletes, no amount of money can account for the risks associated with this change. “You’re talking about player safety, but how do you have player safety when you add a game?” Steelers offensive lineman James Daniels said. “If they were worried about player safety, it would take away games, but it’s not about player safety, it’s about money and extra games — an extra prime-time game — that brings millions of dollars to the NFL, millions of dollars to cities everywhere. I understand it from both sides.”

Besides this, there are a few other concerns. The change will make it harder for undrafted players and late-round pucks to make a real mark. Data suggests that some of the best players ever to lace up proved their worth in the last two preseason games. Some experts feel that this change will make the ‘Scientific’ NFL schedule rather random, leading to a dozen or so throwaway games at the end of the year.

Per the last CBA negotiation, NFL players can receive 48.8% of the revenue in any 17-game season. If the league owners intend to make this change before the expiration of the current CBA in 2030, they must use the opportunity to increase players’ share of revenue. This can indeed become a level playing field for the players.

As for Goodell, we know that if the NFL commissioner wants it; he gets it! I too believe that this change is coming sooner than later. What do you think, NFL fans? Is the 18-game season a win or a loss? Let’s tackle this debate in the comments below!