NFLPA interim executive director says 18-game regular season not inevitable: 'We haven't talked about it yet'

The NFL moved to a 17-game regular season schedule in 2021

It appears as though the NFL moving to an 18-game regular season schedule is not a foregone conclusion.

David White, the interim executive director of the NFL Players Association, told the Associated Press that he hasn't personally had any conversations with the league regarding increasing the regular season schedule.

"The league has the right to bring any issue they want to the table and, presumably, to propose what they're willing to give to receive what they want in negotiation but we'll see when that happens," White told the AP. "We haven't talked about it yet, and it certainly is not inevitable and should not be presented as such."

White also stated that he had a "productive meeting" with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last month, and agreed to have an "open and respectful" line of communication. 

In order to expand the season schedule, both sides would be required to renegotiate the league's current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is scheduled to expire in March 2031. The NFL increased the regular season schedule to 17 games back in 2021.

White replaced previous NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell in August. Howell stepped down in July after a host of controversies, including conflict of interest and collusion. In addition, NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter resigned from his post and would've been a candidate to potentially replace Howell.

In July, the Washington Post's Mark Maske reported that the NFL and NFLPA weren't expected to have any sort of formal negotiations related to expanding to an 18-game schedule until "at least early 2026."

According to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones, adding an 18th game was seen as inevitable, but was "not a focus" at the league's annual meetings back in April. In 2024, Howell revealed that the NFLPA had held informal talks about an 18-game schedule, but those conversations didn't lead to formal discussions.

In that report, Maske also stated that any schedule expansion may not take place until 2028.