Jets owner Woody Johnson is among the growing number of owners who want to expand the playoffs.
Johnson told the Star-Ledger that while there’s still work to be done to determine all the details of what playoff expansion will entail, he thinks more playoff games will be a positive for the league.
“There are good arguments on both sides, and I haven’t gone into it in maybe the depth that we will,” Johnson said. “We’re going to study it hard. But I kind of like it. I kind of like the idea of more playoff games. We’re still below other sports [in terms of the number of teams that make the playoffs].”
With 12 of 32 teams making the postseason, the NFL already has a higher percentage of its teams making the playoffs than Major League Baseball, where 10 of 30 teams go to the playoffs. But the NHL and NBA both have 16 of 30 teams in the playoffs, so the NFL wouldn’t be diluting its playoff field as much as some sports have.
This season will almost certainly be the last with only 12 playoff teams. Starting next year, expect 14 teams to make the playoffs. And expect Johnson to join a large majority of his fellow owners in voting in favor of playoff expansion.