INDIANAPOLIS— How did the NFL get to the precipice of a 17-game season? DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA’s executive director, said Thursday morning that extending the NFL’s regular season by one game was the starting point for negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players.
“That’s a conversation I had with every team, that the league was conditioning an early deal on the 17th game, and that was a part of the package for an early deal,” Smith said, standing outside the NFLPA’s agent seminar at the Scouting Combine.
The 17th game has been central to the CBA talks, particularly since high-profile players and union reps Aaron Rodgers and Richard Sherman have spoken out against the extension of the regular season.