With the NFL determined to expand the regular season to 17 games -- and with the NFL Players Association negotiating with the league based on a 17-game season -- it’s fair to conclude that it’s coming. But do football fans want it?
A Twitter poll posted on the PFT account generated more than 56,000 votes, with more than 62 percent of those who responded saying they don’t want a 17-game season. That left fewer than 38 percent in favor of the expansion of the season from 16 games to 17.
It’s a somewhat surprising outcome, especially given the gradual sense of inevitability that has emerged in recent months regarding the move to 17. But here’s what also shouldn’t be surprising: The NFL won’t care about this or any other poll. The league has decided to find another place in the pizza to cram cheese, the league will be putting it on the menu, and we will be eating it.
Eventually, 17 will become 18. Again, it feels inevitable -- and the ongoing expansion of legalized gambling makes it even more likely. There’s too much money to be made by having another two weekends of games on which to wager, regardless of concerns about player safety or fan opposition or anything else other than the basic exercise of capitalism.