For some time now there has been an ongoing discussion on whether to expand the NFL Playoff structure to 14 or even 16 teams. Season after season there seems to be one or two teams that everyone agrees should have been in the playoffs, but just didn’t make it under the current system. In the past ten years we have seen seven teams with double digit wins not make the playoffs.
Back in October, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that his ‘competition committee’ would be examining expanding the playoff structure to 14 teams. Seven teams would get in from each conference but only the number one overall seeds would receive a bye during the wild-card weekend.
That could turn into good news for those teams that seem always to be on the periphery but never quite making it into the playoffs themselves. On the other hand, the league stands a good chance of making the same mistakes that the NBA and NHL leagues have made by over expanding their playoff structure to the point of diluting the action and at times losing the interest of their fans. Basketball playoffs go on for over two months which often seems like forever.
At this point it is estimated that just one NFL game carries about the same competitive weight in a team’s season as 10 MLB games. Adding two additional teams to the playoffs will dilute those figures a bit, but not too much.
Professional football in America already enjoys the most meaningful regular season (read that most profitable) in all of sports. Consideration must be taken to avoid overloading the market. The single playoff game setup we have now winner takes all, loser goes home, still makes the NFL Playoffs much more intense and meaningful than a 7 game series to determine the conference champs.
Even with 14 teams in the playoffs, each team will be encouraged to give their all because the number one seeds will not only receive a bye for the wild-card games, but will also have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. That could be huge to certain teams like Seattle or New Orleans where the fans seem like a part of the game.
Of course, Goodell and the team owners (aka his bosses) are looking at the extra revenue that adding the two extra teams will produce. You can be sure that this was all put to paper and the bottom line was determined long before the expansion was even announced to the general public. After all, it’s all about the money.
