At the 2024 NFL Draft, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell got the conversation started on introducing the idea of an 18-game schedule when he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show. His idea was to lower the preseason down to two games and add in another regular season game. They just expanded the schedule from 16 games to 17 starting with the 2021 season, and the current CBA doesn’t expire until after the 2030 season, but there is nothing stopping the two motivated sides from coming to the negotiation table early.
Mark Maske of The Washington Post is now reporting that preliminary talks have begun between the NFL and the NFLPA centered on the possibility of an 18-game schedule.