Goodell: Playoff expansion to be discussed at next owners meeting

Posted by Darin Gantt on April 24, 2014, 2:03 PM EDT
AP

An expanded NFL playoff field is probably inevitable, even if it’s not imminent.

But don’t tell that to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Goodell told Bob Glauber of Newsday that owners would discuss the proposal at their May 20 meeting in Atlanta, with a vote possible.

Of course, even the owners involved aren’t sure it can be fast-tracked for the 2014 season, with Giants president John Mara saying this week he wasn’t sure there was time to implement such a plan for the coming season.

Then there’s also the matter of getting the players to sign off.

Mara noted “my guess is that it’s going to pass at some point,” and that’s probably the right approach to take. Even if some believe the NFL risks oversaturation by fiddling with a good product, the move to 14 teams looks like something that’s happening, and the only real discussion is the when.

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50 responses to “Goodell: Playoff expansion to be discussed at next owners meeting”

  3. It’s a bad idea. Part of what makes the NFL so great is that the regular season games truly mean something. They’re watering down the product. Don’t do it!

  6. Fidel Goodell’s getting 10 million per year ways to ruin the NFL: 1. London games 2. Playoff expoansion 3. No Kick-offs 4. No extra points 5. Cold weather Super Bowls. If it ain’;t broke, don’t fix it.

  7. Mark Cuban is half-right about NFL owners. This is all about money, not the game. Goodell is commissioner of the cash register, not what’s best for football. Adding an extra team to the playoffs is a horrible idea. Adding interest in late season in more markets makes them money, but these teams are mediocre (Arizona last year the exception) and cheapens getting into the “tournament”.

  9. none of this surprises me…i bet when they negotiated w fox, espn, cbs for TV rights a few yrs back the owners drug dealed a plan to slowly plant the seeds to expand the season by 2 more games, thus creating more ad revenue and viewership for each network for their respective games and pre game shows. it makes sense. the networks dont cough up that kind of money without certain guarantees and expansion had to have been on the negotiation table. the billions paid up front will not stack up to the same dollar amount 5 – 7 yrs from now. if you follow nielsen ratings and ads per age demographics (male and female) they continually increase every year for a 30, 45, or 60 second ad. the networks win in the end.

  11. I’m a fan of a team that has missed the playoffs for 11 straight seasons but I certainly do NOT want the number of postseason teams expanded.

    Maybe it’s because I’m old enough (NFL fan for over 40 years) to remember that when my Raiders were a perennial playoff team they got into the postseason because they actually were good enough to EARN it. And victories over other worthy opponents in the postseason were great to savor.

    So Goodell’s desire to further diminish the quality of the postseason for the sake of pure profit makes me sick and furthers my opinion that he’s one of the worst major sports commissioners in my lifetime.

  14. Don’t turn the NFL into the joke that is the NBA. It’s nothing but a cash-grab when half the league makes the playoffs and it’s BORING.

  15. I don’t see the downside

    Right now mediocre teams in weak divisions – yes, even 8-8 teams – make the playoffs. But 11-5 teams are left out.

    Expanding the playoffs won’t ruin the game any more than it did in 1991

    If they expand again (first time since the the League added more teams) mediocre teams will continue to make the playoffs but the 11-5 teams previously left out can now be let in.

    This is bad, why?

  18. Do it know. Should have implemented last month during hearings. Teams get burned every year, time for change. Also, team with better record should be home team.

  19. It is a terrible idea. It’s watering down the product, oversaturating it and risking getting people just tired of too much.

    I mean, aren’t we all tired with all the draft hype right now? The draft could be in just a couple of hours, but no. Instead we still have two remaining weeks of hearing if Manziel is the next big thing or the next Ryan Leaf, or if Clowney takes plays off or is the next LT. I wish this whole thing would just be over and we could start looking forward to OTA’s and training camp.

    Same will happen with the playoffs. I believe they’re just fine as they are right now. Yeah, it’s bad that the Cardinals didn’t get in last year, but for every good team that has missed the playoffs we will have a bad team that shouldn’t be there.

    The sad part is that no matter how much we oppose, we will end up watching that extra playoff game (yeah, myself included).

  20. This is an awful idea. The NFL playoffs are perfect as they are. Letting one team get a first round bye and homefield advantage is ridiculous. There will be almost no difference between the 2 and 7 seeds.

    It’s a money grab. That’s all there is to it. Honestly, at first I was against what Cuban said, but seeing how greedy Goodell and the owners are at the expense of the product that the fans love has made me take his side as of late.

  22. Why don’t they just play every day, like baseball. Then all of the games would be meaningless.

  24. You guys who constantly blame Goodell for ruining the NFL… he works for the owners. He does NOTHING that they don’t want. The rules and things like playoff expansion come from the Competition Committee, not Goodell – and are voted on by the owners, not Goodell. Roger is simply the mouthpiece for the owners and the “attorney general” regarding the rules.

    You want to direct your anger properly? Write a letter to your favorite team’s owner.

  25. I liked it better with 3 divisions per conference (East, Central, West). One division winner and one wild card per division.

  26. I don’t mind expanded playoffs. Because there should be there wild card teams. Often one of the division winners doesn’t belong in the playoffs. I’m a Giants fan. We didn’t deserve the playoffs in 2011.

    The Cardinals last year were as good as the 49ers and Seahawks on defense last year and probably were the third or second best team in the NFL, but missed the playoffs.

    If and when we see an 18 game schedule there needs to be expanded playoffs. The reason is because right now 14 of each team’s games are predetermined by what division they’re in. 2 games are made based on the team’s record. By that system good teams are already punished the following season for doing well. While crap teams that reload get a two game handicap. If you make that a four game handicap you’re going to see lots of good teams bounce in and out of the playoffs from year to year.

  28. Nobody’s really surprised that the owners want a 7th playoff seed in each conference and an 18-game schedule, are they? Please tell me no one is surprised.

    Economics 101: Everybody’s goal in life is to figure out a way to make more money. Think about things from your perspective versus the billionaire owners in sports. Say you’re at a job and you’re making $60,000 a year. It’s good money, but you’re going to want to eventually make more money beyond that, whether by getting raises or seeking a better-paying job elsewhere.

    The owners are no different. They love making the money they already have, but they want to be able to make more money, just like you and me. Adding two more regular season games and/or a 7th playoff team in each conference is a way to do that.

  33. It’s amazing that the guy in charge of protecting the NFL, Goodell, is doing the most to destroy it.

    He won’t be satisfied until he wrings every last cent out of the fans.

    Every single idea he comes up with is bad — playoff expansion, London games, London Super Bowl, Olympics football, changing draft day and dates, moving kickoffs, getting rid of extra points, rules against “defenseless” receiver hits, plus he totally botched the “bounty” investigation. The guy is a walking disaster!

  34. I would be in favor of a Playoff expansion if one of the following scenarios happened.

    1 Team Gets 3 Week Bye.
    Two best Division winners get a Single Bye.
    Worst Division Winner must play Wild Card Round (3 Wild Cards)
    2nd Rnd becomes 2nd and 3rd Strongest Division Winner vs the winners of the Wild Card Round.

    Winner of Divisionals face in Semis

    Best Record of the conference Host the Conference Title Game.

    The other option I’d like would be 4 Wild Card Teams, who then essentially fight for seeding. Best two Wild card winners face the worst two divisional winners, and the Best two Division winners face the worst two wild cards. Then the winner of those two games play in the championship. So the wild card round becomes a Seeding for the tournament round.

  35. Addendum. What you could do if you want to preserve an additional bye for the Best Record in conference. The Worst record Loser Wild Card does not advance to face the Regular Season Winner of the Conference.

  36. what needs to be done is award home field by record not just a division winner. No way the Cards should miss the playoff while the packers and eagles are hosting playoff games against teams with more wins. that’s a flaw in the system.

  37. Goodell won’t be happy until most of the teams make the playoffs. It will be like March Madness in January.

  39. As an Atlanta resident that isn’t caring at all about a NBA playoff team currently playing that finished 9 games below .500, I beg you, NFL, don’t water down the postseason.

  40. Can we have pft polls on here and twitter regarding playoff expansion and 18 game seasons…im willing to bet the fans overwhelmingly reject both. Yet goodell says the fans want it. Hes becoming jerru jones, jey my product sucks but its more popular than ever. Stop tinkering in an effort to squeeze every dollar out of us

  41. I don’t want to expand playoffs, but I accept that is the owner’s prerogative to do so.

    To the people who whine about the expansion, I recommend you act like an American who believes in free markets and stop watching. Or, you could create a new league to compete with the NFL using rules you and structure you agree with. Otherwise, I don’t give a damn and suggest you grab a rifle and man a post….(whoops, started channeling “A Few Good Men.”)

    Somehow, I don’t think many people will stop watching. We are all addicted and cannot put the needle down.

  43. Last season, the Steelers started 0-4, then 2-6, but nearly made the playoffs because they play in a weak and distressed conference. Sorry, but that’s not good football, and, yes, it was extremely hard to watch.
    It was hard to watch a 7-8 team have to win its regular-season finale (against a Browns team that had fired its coach and packed it in) just to reach 8-8, then pray for help. I wasn’t among the ones “praying,” which means my “addiction” is well on its way to being cured.
    Mark Cuban is right.

  44. It’s a done deal. The Owners can recognize an addiction and like the cartels are going to push there way in unless fans draw a line in the sand and stop buying season tickets and merchandise (not saying they should go cold turkey). As fans we hold the power but are too weak to just say no!
    It wouldn’t surprise me to see Goodell begin a rotation system for the playoffs so all the teams get a fair shot and the playoff schedule is set the same time they come out with the regular season schedule.

  45. What I dislike about it is that it takes away the NEED TO WIN YOUR DIVISION which will make divisional games less intense. And everyone love divisional games for their intensity.

  47. Expanding playoffs makes it more likely that a team with a losing record will make the playoffs. If you lose 9, or even 8 games, you really don’t deserve to be in the playoffs

  48. Goodell is just another money grubbing scumbag who has no interest in the integrity of the NFL playoffs. I won’t waste my time watching that first round of losers playing when they should be gone fishing! I’ve watched less and less NFL football because it’s quality has dropped. Now that crybaby jerry jones can get his loser boys in the playoffs where they don’t belong with a losing record.

  50. also, if you don’t have the two top teams getting byes..the regular season will be played with just enough to guarantee a spot and the last 3 weeks of the season will be bench warmers.

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