NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The 2026 NFL owners meetings in Phoenix are underway, and among the discussions will be whether to add an 18th regular-season game to the schedule at some point.
Two owners, the New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft and the Indianapolis Colts’ Carlie Irsay-Gordon, are all for it.
However, there is an important caveat, Kraft would be in place.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Robert Kraft and Carlie Irsay-Gordon are two NFL owners who believe an 18th game could be added, but with caveats. (Getty Images)
Kraft reportedly told media in Phoenix that he favors an 18th game in the regular season, but wants there to be another bye week for the teams instead of the regular week.
Kraft’s “conditions,” according to The33rdTeam’s Ari Meirov, also removed a preseason game, bringing the total to two per game. season, and had every single NFL team play at least one international game each season.
As for Irsay-Gordon, she pointed to the fact that not all teams get an equal number of home games in today’s NFL during a 17-game schedule. But she also agrees with Kraft that the preseason should be shortened.
BILLS STAR DION DAWKINS EXPLAINS HIS ‘TACLE’ FOR POTENTIAL NFL 18TH GAME: ‘CAREERS ONLY GET SHORTER’
“The preseason is, as far as the fan product, I know the commissioner has been open that it’s not the best product that we have,” she explained, according to the Indianapolis Star. “I would say, for the development of our team, I don’t think we can get away with it.”
While the owners want it, the NFL Players’ Association noted at the Super Bowl earlier this year that their team has “no appetite” for an 18th regular season game.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft smiles before the 2025 NFL game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on October 19. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
Now that JC Tretter was elected PA CEO, negotiations for an 18th game as well as a new media rights contract could be underway. While the television deal could be changed before the start of the 2026 season, Pro Football Talk reported that some support for the league to implement an 18th game could come as soon as the 2027 campaign.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has noted in the past that the 18th game is “not a given,” though owners like Kraft, Irsay and likely others see it coming sooner rather than later.
Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital that he feels “it’s going to go either way.”
He just wants to make sure players like himself are properly taken care of if that’s the case, especially from a financial lens.
Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills runs onto the field prior to an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on November 2, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
“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.”
