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The 2026 NFL owners meetings in Phoenix are underway, and among the discussions is bound to be whether an 18th regular-season game should be added to the schedule at some point.
Two owners, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots and Carlie Irsay-Gordon of the Indianapolis Colts, are all in favor.
However, there is one important caveat that Kraft would have in place.
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Robert Kraft and Carlie Irsay-Gordon are two NFL owners who believe an 18th game could be added, but with caveats. (Getty Images)
Kraft reportedly told media in Phoenix that he favors an 18th regular-season game, but he wants there to be a second bye week for teams instead of the standard week.
Additionally, Kraft’s “terms,” according to Ari Meirov of The33rdTeam, removed one preseason game, bringing the total to two per season, and required every NFL team to play at least one international game each season.
As for Irsay-Gordon, she pointed out the fact that not all teams get an even number of home games in today’s NFL under a 17-game schedule. But she also agrees with Kraft that the preseason should be shortened.
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“Preseason, as far as the fan product, I know the commissioner has been open about the fact that it’s not the best product we have,” she explained, according to the Indianapolis Star. “I would say for the development of our team, I don’t think we can get rid of him.”
Even if the owners want to, the NFL Players Association noted during the Super Bowl earlier this year that their team had “no appetite” for an 18th regular-season game.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft smiles before the 2025 NFL game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on October 19. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
Now that JC Tretter has been elected executive director of the AP, negotiations regarding an 18th game as well as a new media rights contract could continue. Although the television deal could be changed before the start of the 2026 season, Pro Football Talk reported that some support for the league to implement an 18th game could come as early as the 2027 campaign.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has noted in the past that Game 18 is “not a given,” although owners like Kraft, Irsay and likely others see it coming sooner rather than later.
Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said in a recent interview with PK Press Club Digital that he thinks “it’s going to happen one way or another.”
He just wants to make sure players like him are properly taken care of if that’s the case, especially from a financial standpoint.
Dion Dawkins of the Buffalo Bills runs onto the field before an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium on November 2, 2025 in Orchard Park, New York. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
“Our contracts are not fully guaranteed. There are good players, there are average players, there are players who are getting by. As long as guys are taken care of like they’re supposed to be, that’s our life. We’re athletes, and it’s not that I’m here for that, it’s going to happen anyway – [an] 18th match. And then 20 years later, guess what? We’re talking about a 19th, then we’ll talk about a 20th.…Then it’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re combat athletes all year round.’ But who knows.”
