Roger Goodell Shares Some Ideas To Change The NFL Schedule And They're Actually Brilliant

Let me go on the record and say that Roger Goodell really, really bothers me. He oversees a woke business and is willing to go against his beliefs for more money. But the biggest reason I can’t stand him is because he thoroughly botched the Deflategate investigation and made Tom Brady, the quarterback for my New England Patriots, a villain for something he may or may not have done.

Sometimes, however, the people we thoroughly dislike can come up with a good idea. And on Friday, the commissioner articulated a brilliant one on an appearance of "The Pat McAffee Show."

The commissioner was discussing his plans to change the current scheduling format. People can throw out some wild suggestions in these discussions, but Goodell’s are actually quite appealing, at least from a fan’s perspective.

His first idea was to extend the regular season games to 18 matchups, while at the same time getting rid of a preseason game.

"I think we're good at 17 now," Goodell said. "But, listen, we're looking at how we continue. I'm not a fan of the preseason. ... But the reality is, I'd rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season game any day. That's just picking quality, right? If we get to 18 and 2, that's not an unreasonable thing."

Now look, 18 games would be a gauntlet. Heck, the previous 16-week schedule was incredibly physically demanding. So how would the NFL balance that schedule demands with adequate rest? By adding a second bye week, which would help players recover better mid-season. Goodell said he would be fine with implementing that as a compromise.

Goodell Also Proposed A Great Change To Scheduling The Super Bowl

But obviously, if you add these extra regular season games and bye weeks, that obviously means you’re extending how long it lasts. That would push back the date of the most important event on the NFL calendar: the Super Bowl.

Currently, the NFL plays its biggest game on the second Sunday of February. If this idea were implemented, it would force the Super Bowl to be played during the following week.

Goodell said that this was intentional, and it’s the best part of his plan.

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Every third Monday of February, we celebrate President’s Day, a federal holiday. So if this happens, fans could stay up as late as they want on Super Bowl Sunday, and then not worry about getting up for work the next day.

Genius.

Of course, all of these plans would have to be approved by the players, whom this impacts the most. It’s worth noting that the 17-game schedule barely got enough votes from players (51.5 percent) to be implemented, and the current collective bargaining agreement lasts until 2030.

But I’m sure fans far and wide would be down for more games and a day off after the Super Bowl. Goodell showed he does have the capacity to come up with a good idea.