The 18-Game Gamble: Jerry Jones is Trading Player Health for a Bigger Paycheck
AI-generated image · US National Wire
OPINION: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sees an 18-game season as inevitable, but expanding the NFL's grueling calendar is a recipe for burnout and a diluted product.
Let's be clear: this is an opinion piece. I've watched the league evolve for years, and while the NFL is a business, it is a business built on the backs of athletes who are currently being pushed to their absolute physical limits. Now, we have Jerry Jones attempting to move the goalposts again.
As CBS Sports first reported, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes the NFL is not far off from expanding its regular season to 18 games. Speaking via 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Jones suggested that such a move could happen as early as next year, asserting that an expansion is "in everybody's best interest," including the players.
Jones proposes a trade: trim the preseason further to make room for the 18th regular-season game. Currently, teams typically play three exhibition games (with two teams playing four if they participate in the Hall of Fame Game). Jones argues teams can develop rosters during early regular-season games, which he claims already have a "preseason feeling."
But there is a massive difference between a preseason exhibition and a regular-season game. By erasing more preparation and replacing it with high-stakes action, the league increases the physical toll on players. The real winner here is the bottom line; CBS Sports notes the NFL could demand more money from broadcast partners in its next media rights deal. The league is already sitting on a massive 11-year, $110 billion deal signed in 2023 with Amazon Prime Video, CBS, ESPN/ABC, FOX, and NBC.
The on-field implications are disastrous. A league source told CBS Sports in April that the primary concern is a spike in injuries, warning of "season-enders and next-season-enders" occurring in Week 18 or 19. Furthermore, an anonymous player told CBS Sports that top stars might "check themselves out" as the season drags on, sitting out late-season games that no longer matter for playoff contention.
While Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters at Super Bowl LX in February that there have been no formal discussions and the move is "not a given," Jones is clearly pushing for profit over player longevity. With the current Collective Bargaining Agreement locked in through 2030, any expansion will require a fight with the players' union—a fight the union has every reason to win.
Expanding the season is a short-sighted grab for media money that ignores the health of the athletes. The league should listen to the warnings: stop adding games before you break the game.