In case anyone harbored doubt that NFL owners still want an 18-game schedule and remain totally committed to international play, Patriots Owner Robert Kraft has set the record straight.
In an interview with Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub, Kraft not only committed to an 18-game season. But he also spoke about the league’s desire to increase its international footprint.
“We’re going to push like the dickens now to make international more important with us,” Kraft said. “Every team will go to 18 and 2 and eliminate one of the preseason games. Every team, every year, will play one game overseas. Part of the reason is so we can continue to grow the cap and keep our labor happy.”
“The labor,” meaning the players, are, of course, not happy about the move to an 18-game schedule. The owners have sold the expanded regular season as just switching a preseason game to a regular-season game, and keeping within the 20-game schedule. Most honest observers realize that there is a massive physical and mental difference in the toll a preseason game takes on a team compared to a regular-season game.
Hence, the need to entice players by increasing the cap and giving them more money.
However, the problem the league faces is that it has already nearly maxed out the amount of money it can make domestically.
“Because we’re sort of getting near the top here with the coverage,” Kraft explained. “93 of the top 100 programs on television are NFL games. Think about that. It’s really amazing. And you look at the size of our crowds versus the other sports, and it’s really, you know, we had that Amazon game on Thursday a couple of weeks ago. 31 million people streamed. So as long as we can keep growing revenue, we can keep long-term labor peace.”
So, the push for greater international audiences is directly tied to the league’s need to keep labor peace. Increasing ticket sales, merchandising, and viewership revenues abroad will enable the league to raise the cap and secure the NFL Players’ Association’s (NFLPA) agreement to a growing schedule.
The 18-game season is far from a done deal; it will still need to be negotiated with the players. But the NFL has a plan to increase the league’s revenues, and everyone has a price.
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