'Next Year, Maybe': Jerry Jones Says an 18-Game NFL Season Could Arrive by 2027, but the Players Still Hold the Key

Jerry Jones has never been shy about where he thinks the NFL is headed, and on Friday the Dallas Cowboys owner put a date on one of his longest-running ideas. Speaking during his regular Friday appearance on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan, ahead of Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Jones said the league could expand to an 18-game regular season as soon as 2027 ^[1][3].

Asked how far away the change might be, Jones ruled out anything immediate but left the door open for next season. "Next year, maybe," he said ^[2]. Jones told listeners the move would be "in everybody's best interest" ^[4].

What Jones Is Proposing

The Cowboys owner wants to trade preseason games for regular-season games. Under his idea, the league would go from today's 17 regular-season games and three preseason games to 18 regular-season games and two preseason games ^[2]. Jones argued that teams could use the early weeks of the regular season to develop younger players, rather than relying on exhibition games that many fans see as filler ^[1][2].

It is not a new campaign. Jones has pushed for replacing a preseason game with a game that counts for years, and other owners share that goal ^[3]. The league took a similar step once before, adding a 17th regular-season game in 2021 while trimming the preseason to three games under the labor deal the owners and players signed in 2020 ^[2].

The Hurdle: The Players Have to Agree

None of this can happen by owner decree. The length of the season is a matter for collective bargaining, so the NFL Players Association would have to sign off ^[2][3]. Roger Goodell told reporters at the Super Bowl in February that the league had not held formal talks with the union about expanding the schedule ^[2].

An 18th game would also force a series of hard conversations about roster sizes, player pay, the shape of the preseason and the timing of the Super Bowl ^[1][3]. EssentiallySports reported that the union could seek a bigger share of league revenue, a second bye week for every team and an end to mandatory minicamps as the price of accepting an 18-game season before the current deal expires ^[5].

The players' concerns are not hard to understand. Football is a collision sport, and every added game means more hits for the men on the field. A second bye week would ease some of that wear and tear, but it would also stretch the season deeper into the winter and push the Super Bowl later on the calendar ^[1][5].

Why It Matters to Fans

For fans, the trade has obvious appeal. Season-ticket holders have long grumbled about paying full price for preseason games in which most starters barely play, and swapping one of those for a meaningful game would give families more football that actually counts ^[1][2]. The league would also gain another week of the games its broadcast partners value most.

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But there is a case for caution, too. The 17-game schedule is still relatively new, and the league is only a few seasons into learning what the extra game does to player health and the quality of play late in the year. A deal is also a deal. The owners and players signed a long-term labor agreement in 2020, and any change to the season should come through honest bargaining that respects the men who put their bodies on the line every Sunday ^[2].

Jones' words carry weight because few owners have shaped the modern NFL more than he has. Still, this was one owner's forecast during a weekly radio appearance, not a league decision. Until the union comes to the table and agrees, the 18-game season remains an idea, even if it is an idea that keeps getting closer.

What Comes Next

The next real signal will come from league meetings and any formal talks between the NFL and the players' union ^[2][3]. For now, Jones and the Cowboys have more pressing business: a Sunday showdown with the 49ers ^[2].