NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
As talk of expanding the NFL to an 18-game regular season grows, “NFL RedZone” host Scott Hanson said he’s heard an interesting concept about bye weeks.
Hanson, 54, said he has heard talk of a possible league-wide bye week if the NFL were to expand to 18 games.
“If you have an 18th game, do you add a second bye week? I’ve even heard a concept that maybe they add an extra game, but add an extra bye week that’s a full league-wide bye week,” Hanson told PK Press Club Digital in a recent interview as he partners with Lowe’s.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
NFL Network’s Scott Hanson speaks on stage during day three of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin on April 26, 2025. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
“Maybe there’s an NFL weekend in mid-October, early November, somewhere in the middle of the season, where no one plays a game, lets the players recover, get their bodies back in order, everyone can get away from football, just a little bit, and then come play the second half of the season.”
Hanson prefaced that for an 18th game to be considered a possibility, many major entities need to be on the same page.
“Well, look, the most important thing about this is the league, the Players Union and all the partners in the NFL ecosphere all need to be on the same page. And this is a big deal and a big change. Should this happen? So, they have a lot of talking to do through this,” Hanson said.
MIKE VRABEL ADDRESSED THE DIANNA RUSSINI SAGA WITH PATRIOTS PLAYERS DIFFERENTLY THAN HE DID WITH REPORTERS
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks with NFL Network’s Scott Hanson ahead of Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on February 13, 2022. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Hanson also noted how long later the Super Bowl would take place if the NFL implemented an 18-game regular season.
“But if you add this game, you extend the season, maybe two weeks, if there’s an extra bye, which means the Super Bowl gets pushed back maybe even beyond Valentine’s Day, with a lot of moving parts,” Hanson said.
Super Bowl LVI was the furthest forward in a calendar year in which a Super Bowl was played, when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on February 13, 2022. Super Bowl LXI, next year’s big game, will push the date back even further, as it is scheduled to be played on February 14, 2027, also known as Valentine’s Day.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Host Scott Hanson speaks on stage during the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 30, 2022. (David Becker/Getty Images)
Hanson said he would personally be happy if they added more games because he loves football.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
“More games means more action. That means more touchdowns for me in the red zone in the NFL,” Hanson said. “I’ll smile, you know, if it finally becomes a reality.”
