Jerry Jones: "I don't think we're far away" from 18 regular-season games

Published November 14, 2026 10:07 AM As the NFL embarks on the second half of its current 18-week regular-season schedule, it’s just a matter of time before the current structure changes.It’s no secret that the NFL wants to expand the regular season from 17 to 18 games. The league is sufficiently confident about it happening that folks like Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speak of it as a given.“I don’t think we’re far away from it,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, regarding the addition of an extra game. “I don’t know how — what is far away. Next month? No. Next year? Maybe. [The] next year? Maybe. That has to be negotiated with the players. “But it’s in everybody’s best interests. You’d cut back on the preseason games. You’d have teams more develop in the first few games as the type of thing you were trying to get done in preseason. But it’s in everybody’s interest, and it certainly is in the players’ best interest in my mind, for sure. And having said that, I would anticipate that coming.”His comments presume the NFL Players Association will happily agree to 18 regular-season games. They likely won’t. At a minimum, they’ll seek major concessions in exchange for the willingness to add yet another game that counts. The unspoken goal had been 2027. The NFL delayed picking a date for Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta in order to accommodate the possibility that the game will slide a week or two deeper into February. That would make 2028 the earliest year for expansion, as a practical matter. (Adding a game for 2027 would be possible only if the dead week between the conference championships is wiped out or if the season starts a week earlier. If an 18th game will result in a second bye, both would be required.)Expansion by 2027 would require expedited negotiations. Expansion by 2028 would hinge on the NFL and NFLPA striking a deal within the next year or so. The union has shown no inclination, however, to engage in talks aimed at extending the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs through the 2030 season.Still, if push comes to shove, there will be 18 games. The blueprint was created in 2011. The NFL will lock the players out until the players agree to the things the owners want. Most notably, 18 regular-season games and 16 annual international games.Beyond that, Jones’s comment about the early games of the season is odd. “You’d have teams more develop in the first few games as the type of thing you were trying to get done in preseason.” He says that as if it’s a good thing. It definitely is not. Already, teams struggle in September to get up to speed, given that most teams (with the exception of those assigned to the Hall of Fame Game) play only three preseason games. When the preseason reduces to two games, that’s even fewer chances to prepare.It’s also fewer chances for the non-starters to get the attention of coaches and General Managers in games that don’t count in the standings. It will become harder for undrafted free agents to make the 53-man rosters.Regardless, the motivation isn’t football. It’s money. More inventory equals more weekends equals more broadcast windows equals more revenue.And that likely will continue until the preseason shrinks to zero games — and the regular season expands to 20 games.