Fans may soon lose the worry of skipping work after the Super Bowl as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell floated the idea of moving the season finale to Presidents Day Weekend.
The move comes as Goodell looks to re-structure the league's timetable. While most regular season games will remain, Goodell hopes to add another by eliminating the preseason.
On an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the commissioner opened up on his ideas.
'I think we're good at 17 [games] now,' Goodell said. 'But, listen, we're looking at how we continue. I'm not a fan of the preseason. The reality is, I'd rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That's just picking quality.'
'If we get to 18 and 2, that's not an unreasonable thing,' he added. 'The other thing it does, (Super Bowl Sunday) ends on up Presidents' Day weekend, which is a three-day weekend, which makes it Sunday night and then you have Monday off.'
Roger Goodell is 'considering moving the Super Bowl to Presidents Day Weekend'
"I think we're good at seventeen games right now but we're always looking at how we continue..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 26, 2024
I'm not a fan of the preseason and I'd replace a preseason game with a regular season game any day" ~ @nflcommish #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Tv8xdjkSXJ
The idea came after years of fans dreading having to go to work the day after the big game
The reconstruction of the NFL's schedule comes as Goodell hopes to remove the preseason
While fans will undoubtedly be happy to hear this potential change, players may not be as thrilled with the preseason getting axed for an extra regular season game.
Aside from taking away a valuable opportunity for teams and players to get their repetitions, the athletes have long expressed concern over the health and safety hazards of adding another game. When the NFL extended the 16-game regular season in 2021, the decision barely passed with 51 percent of votes from the NFLPA.
'They're really just saying 17 so they can get to 18 [games],' Former player Richard Sherman said then. 'So that's two more opportunities for players to risk their bodies [and] to put their bodies on the line.'
Additionally, Goodell touched on increasing the international game schedule as the NFL continues to amass worldwide fandom.
'I honestly think we'll be playing 16 games internationally if you go 10 years out,' he shared. 'I think we'll try to get to eight or nine in the next couple years.'
The NFL has not yet taken meaningful steps toward changing the regular season structure. Any proposed changes to the schedule would have to be collectively bargained through the NFLPA.
