The NFL already has the shortest season of the US’s major pro sports. It runs from the first week of September to the first week of February, roughly 22 weeks from the first regular season game to the Superbowl. If we add training camp and preseason, the NFL only increases to 27 or 28 weeks. The NBA, MLB, and NHL seasons are all 30 weeks or more, without counting preseasons. The NFL and NFLPA are currently negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and one contentious point in that negotiation is the expansion of each team’s season from 16 to 17 games. Currently, NFL teams play 4 preseason over 4 weeks and 16 regular season games over 17 weeks, with each team having 1 bye week and playing up to 4 more postseason games. Football is a brutal sport, and takes a tremendous toll on players’ bodies. Their physical feelings the first day or two after a game has been described as “like having been in a car wreck”. All players play with some level of pain the majority of the year, and a significant amount will suffer injuries that cause them to miss time. There is an almost universal love and appreciation for their bye week, which is their only respite during the season.
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