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NFL players know they have to give 100% every day they step on the field, knowing it’s a matter of keeping their job or seeing it taken by the next man.
As a result, the average NFL career is around just three seasons, both from the elite talent pool and the injury risk that comes with a high-octane contact sport.
However, the NFL couldn’t do better from a business perspective, as football fans crave more action on any given night during the season. The 2026 season starts on a Wednesday night this year, largely due to the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers playing in Melbourne, Australia at 10:35 local time on Friday morning, which will be Thursday night at 8:35 PM ET in the US.
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Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills runs onto the field prior to the Kansas City Chiefs game at Highmark Stadium on November 2, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
No matter where or when, the games will be watched, which is why the 18th regular season game conversation remains relevant as the league continues to expand its reach.
Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins knows how grueling a 17-game season can be already as someone who is in the trenches when the ball is snapped.
“I think the world we live in is just a different type of world, right? Manufacturing, entertainment, sports. We’re part of the world where people want to see football more — they want to see it. So the 18th game is a beautiful business choice like the league,” he told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview, also touching on his partnership with Oral-B and Crest that needs to impact dental families.
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But while he understands the business aspect of why the NFL wants to introduce an 18th game to the regular season schedule, he believes a player’s perspective should also be listened to.
“The only counter I see to it is that guys’ careers are just getting shorter,” Dawkins explained. “Not to say that one game is going to make it drastically shorter, but one game can change someone’s entire trajectory. Like if you make it through a 17-game season healthy and you get to 18 and your body is ready to break down, something happens. Then the course of your life is completely different.”
Of course, Dawkins understands better than anyone that being part of successful Bills teams in recent seasons means playoff football, which comes just after Week 18 in the wild-card round. However, teams will rest key starters like Dawkins if they get their playoff seed, although not everyone is so lucky during the year.
Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills before Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on February 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Whatever the case, Dawkins believes that “it’s going to go both ways.” He just wants to make sure players like himself are properly taken care of if that’s the case, especially from a financial lens.
“Our contracts are not fully guaranteed. There are good players, there are average players, there are players who just make it. As long as guys are taken care of the way they’re supposed to be, that’s our life. We’re athletes, and not that I’m here for it, it’s going to happen either way— [an] 18th match. And then 20 years later, guess what? We’re talking about a 19th, then we’re talking about a 20th… Then it’s like, “Yeah, we’re combat athletes all year round.” But who knows.”
Dawkins added that NFL teams might want to use workload plays like NBA players do, but that’s probably not the case given that basketball players have 82 games in the regular season. They can spare a loss or two if that’s what happens on the field.
The NFL is different, as each game becomes more crucial than the next, even if the league is thinking about adding another to the regular season.
David White, who served as the NFL Players’ Association’s interim CEO before the selection of JC Tretter, said during Super Bowl LX week that players “don’t have the appetite for an 18th regular season game” despite the league’s push for it.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell noted at the time that an 18th game was “not a given,” but owners like the New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft say “every team will go 18.”
“Every team will go 18 [regular-season games] and two [preseason games] and eliminate one of the preseason games and every team will play a game overseas every year,” he said on 98.5 The Sports Hub in January.
Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills competes during the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge at the NFL Pro Bowl Games at Moscone Center South on February 2, 2026 in San Francisco. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
CLOSING AMERICA’S SMILE GAP
While rest and relaxation are key for NFL players in the offseason, Dawkins also makes sure he makes an impact in the community.
He teamed up with Crest and Oral-B on their “Closing America’s Smile Gap” initiative, which aims to donate a free dental cleaning to families in need through “America’s ToothFairy.”
Always finding ways to impact underserved youth through his Dion’s Dreamers Foundation, Dawkins discussed how improving oral health access for children and families is important, especially given that 50% of low-income parents will skip or delay their own dental care to get their children the care they need.
“It’s a no-brainer, a layup,” he said of the partnership with Crest and Oral-B. “For people who do the right things to help, it all adds up.
“When it comes down to it, one of the first things people see is the mouth, the teeth, the visuals of your smile… Sometimes some people are in that one bracket of, ‘Okay, I’ll just brush my teeth and I’ll be good.’ Sometimes you go to the dentist, get a cleaning, and the dentist has to prepare, and they have to prepare you for the walk of life to be able to smile. For Crest and Oral-B, this is what the world is: teeth.”
