Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hints NFL could move to 18-game schedule as soon as next year

The NFL could move to an 18-game regular season as soon as next year, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has suggested. He made the comments in an interview with Dallas sports radio station 105.3 FM on Friday.

Jones said: 'I don't think we're far away from it. I don't know what is far away — next month, next year, maybe. Next year, maybe. That has to be negotiated with the players. But it's in everybody's best interest.'

The NFL expanded from a 16-game schedule to 17 games in 2021. Since then, speculation has persisted about whether the league will eventually add an 18th regular-season game.

Such a change would require negotiations over roster sizes, player salaries, the preseason schedule and the timing of the Super Bowl. The NFL Players Association would also have to approve the plan before it could move forward.

Jones suggested the preseason could be shortened if the change becomes reality, with teams using the early weeks of the regular season to ramp up. 'You'd cut back on the preseason games, you'd have teams more developed in the first few games, the type of thing you were trying to get done in the preseason. It's in everybody's interest, and it certainly is in the players' best interests, in my mind,' he said.

Interest in adding another game has been fuelled by the league's growing popularity and expanded international schedule. This season features a record nine games played outside the United States, and a 10-game international slate has been approved for 2027.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been a vocal supporter of many owners' push for an 18-game schedule.

The NFL Players Association, however, has expressed mixed feelings about expanding the regular season. In March, NFLPA executive director JC Tretter told The Athletic that the union was determined to 'defend our players and their health.'

Tretter said: 'There are things that are not good for our players that we need to make sure we're protecting them from. And as of right now, those are all subjects of bargaining. The league can't expand past 10 international games. The league's at 17 games in the CBA. That is where we're at, and we're going to make sure we defend our players and their health and safety because our guys feel they know what this feels like.'

Tretter, a former offensive lineman, spent eight seasons in the NFL and last played for the Cleveland Browns in 2021. 'I understand what it felt like when I played 16 games and then moved to 17,' he said. 'I understand the toll that takes on the body. I understand the same thing with international. I played an international game. I understand the timeline and how tough it is to recover, how tough it is to turn around and get on the flight on the way back and then get ready for the next week. That is not easy.'