A Small Step for a Big Change : A New NFL Schedule

Will this NFL draft soon become a staple of May sweeps?

The NFL, NFL players, and NFL fans hate the pre-season. It’s a month of football where the league stars barely play, stadiums are completely empty, and season ticket holders have to pay full price to see the games. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has long been a proponent of expanding the NFL regular season from 16 to 18 games and cutting the pre-season from four to two games. Despite the fact that NFL players are seemingly never going to agree to the extra two games, the NFL may be starting to answer some of the questions of how a new 18-game season would work.

Adam Schefter, of ESPN, tweeted that the NFL is discussing changes to the NFL off-season schedule. The change would move the NFL combine from late February to early March, the start of the league calendar year and free agency from early March to early April, the NFL draft from mid-April to early May, and having all 32 teams start training camp on the same day in late July or early August.

The NFL has obviously denied the connection between the proposed schedule change and the proposed 18-game schedule, but it is hard to not think they are related. If the NFL decides to not move week 1 of the NFL schedule, it would have to move the Super Bowl from the first weekend in February to President’s Day weekend in February and would have leave just a week between the Super Bowl and NFL combine. The NFL is subtly moving the league calendar to answer how an expanded regular season would work without ever mentioning the 18-game schedule.

As Schefter mentioned, the league is doing this for “business” reasons. The proposed shift not only attempts to keep the NFL relevant in 11 of the 12 months of the year with big events, but also attempts to increase the NFL’s television revenues. With the proposed change, the NFL would have the playoffs in January, Super Bowl in February, combine in March, free agency in April, draft in May, training camp in July, pre-season in August, and then the season from September to December. Outside of the month of June the NFL would continue to remain relevant with a big event each month. The NFL draft in May would place the draft in the middle of the May television sweeps, which the league hopes, would increase the advertisement money as well as TV ratings of the draft.

While the NFL’s proposed move seems harmless, it does not factor in where its new proposed schedule would fall into the general sports calendar. Right now, the NFL’s off-season schedule capitalizes on the dead period of other sports seasons. The NFL combine moves from a dead period in February to a dead period in March which is fine, but NFL free agency moves from a dead period in March to early April and will have to compete with MLB Opening Day. The NFL Draft currently competes with the early rounds of the NHL playoffs, the end of the NBA regular season, but the proposed change would move the draft in direct competition with later rounds of the NHL playoffs and the NBA playoffs, as well.

Is the NFL hoping that everyone will continue to care about their draft or free agency over other major sports events? I guess so. The NFL has reached a popularity level where every decision it makes is right. The players may block this new schedule and eventually an 18 game schedule, too.

But if this does pass, it will only increase the popularity of America’s number one sport.