Roger Goodell bizarrely cited player safety as a reason to cut the preseason in an 18-game schedule

At this point, it would be foolish to ignore reality.

If the NFL wants something — more Christmas games, an entire winter/spring news cycle around the annual draft, a silly schedule release primetime “event” — it will get it. The league practically prints money and has ingrained itself into American culture so much that it could likely literally do whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

But that doesn’t mean commissioner Roger Goodell has to patronize NFL players or fans to an excessive degree.

During the NFL’s spring meetings in Nashville, Goodell discussed a number of issues facing the league, but he centered on a potential 18-game regular-season schedule. He talked about the NFL supposedly trying to make the game safer and used that fact to float the idea of further reducing preseason exhibitions in the name of adding an 18th game.

Uh, what?

Full comments from Commissioner Roger Goodell on a potential 18-game season and the context https://t.co/hSypDGbiPg pic.twitter.com/2hC1i6XI9g

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 22, 2024

It’s worth noting that the NFL likely won’t try expanding the regular-season schedule until the current collective bargaining agreement expires in March 2030 unless the players union is game. Until then, most of this conversation is moot and fruitless and it just serves as pointless posturing. Which, to be clear, is because the NFL will absolutely expand the regular season schedule the first moment it has a chance to.

It’s just … gonna take a while.

For Goodell to pretend like the league has virtuous motivation to make everyone happy is almost insulting. You can’t justify an 18-game schedule by offering to cut down the preseason in the name of player safety when most starters barely play preseason games anyway.

As anyone who follows the NFL closely knows, it’s a virtual guarantee the league will seize any and every opportunity to grow. You need not hold your breath to watch this avaricious football titan squeeze out every last penny of broadcasting profits.

To act like the NFL does anything for more than money is just disingenuous.  It would be nice if Goodell could stop pretending fans and players don’t know this, too. Especially when he’s talking making the game safer.