A whole lot of NFL fans wanted a bigger playoff menu to watch last year, but it didn’t happen. Some teams that had a shot at winning it all didn’t even make the playoffs. The players union blamed it on the commissioner’s office and vice-versa. This year the two seem to be coming together on a plan that will please everyone, especially NFL fans.
During the annual spring meetings of the NFL owners and principals, Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated that the expanded playoff scenario might just happen in 2015, which sounds like next year, but it’s actually this football season which will be getting underway in less than 90 days.
Yes fans, now you can start to get a little excited. When Sir Roger says it might happen, you can pretty much take it to the bank, seeing that it will be almost totally his decision if and when the NFL playoffs will be expanded.
The commissioner told the press, “I do believe playoff expansion will be approved for the 2015 season. I think we want to see one more year of ‘will it impact the regular season in a positive way, from a competitive standpoint’. Will it create more excitement, more races toward the end? And we also want to absorb the additional inventory into the marketplace, from an advertising standpoint.”
Obviously Mr. Goodell is far ahead of the rest of us in thinking this thing through and obviously, he fully intends to do it. That’s why he gets the big bucks.
Of course the NFLPA, the player’s union, is going to be very involved in the plan. After all, its members will be the ones out there on the field working for the extra added games. Of course most of them relish as much playing time as they can get, but still. There will most likely be more than simply additional financial compensation involved.
Goodell went on, “I spoke with DeMaurice Smith (the NFLPA representative) about two weeks ago. I think there’s a lot of benefits to the players. That’s something they’ll have to evaluate. I do believe this is a real benefit to the players. The revenue, obviously, will increase, and they share in that.”
So all you ruff and tumble pro football fans who are already chomping at the bit for next season to get underway can take heart in the fact that the new year will be bringing more of your favorite gridiron action than ever before.
