Joe Flacco Warns Against NFL Expanding Schedule To 18 Games

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco isn't afraid to tell the NFL how he really feels about a potential 18-game season.

The NFL expanded its regular season from 16 to 17 games in 2021. This change was made as part of the collective bargaining agreement that was ratified in 2020. Although the current format for the league seems fine, some owners wouldn't mind adding yet another game to the schdule.

"If we can make it work, I do think that it would be good," Indianapolis Colts owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon said at the annual league meeting. "Preseason is, as far as the fan product goes, the commissioner has openly said that it's not the best product that we have. It is, I would say, for development of our team. I don't think we can get rid of it. But I think as long as the players want it -- which I think they would, because it would mean more revenue -- I think [it 's] ultimately a better product. I think it's reasonable. It's something we should work toward."

During an interview with Front Office Sports, Flacco made it known that he's strongly against the idea of an 18-game schedule.

"It's got to stop at some point," Flacco said. "What happens when we go to 18? Are they going to want 20? Are they going to want 22? We used to play 14 games before I was born. At some point it has to stop."

Is an 18-game schedule a certainty?

Even though Flacco believes the NFL shouldn't expand the regular season, he thinks an 18th game is inevitable for all 32 teams.

"If we're asked to play 18 games, I think you're not going to see much difference, and it looks like we're probably eventually going to play 18 games, and we'll just have to do it, and it is what it is," Flacco added, via Pro Football Talk.

When asked in February about potentially expanding the regular season, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn't sound convinced that a change will happen soon.

"We have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly very little of any informal conversations," Goodell said. "It is not a given that we will do that. It's not something we assume will happen. It's something we want to talk about with the union leadership."

For now, it sounds like the NFL will stick to a 17-game schedule. Money talks though, and the NFL sure knows how to squeeze every penny.

Copyright The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 6:36 AM.