Is Joe Burrow’s 18-Game Schedule Proposal Actually Ingenious?
Image Credit: Jamie Squire / Getty Images
Joe Burrow is a lot of things. He’s a Heisman Trophy winner, and a former first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s a Comeback Player of the Year Award winner, and has already made it to a Pro Bowl. It might also be nice to mention that he’s an AFC Championship winner, and has already appeared in three different title games; one which happened to be the Super Bowl. The Cincinnati quarterback is all ball, and all business.
The one thing that Joe Burrow is not, is very outspoken. While quarterback is the most valuable position on the football field, and a lot of players in that spot can let that get to their head, Burrow is the complete opposite. The most drama that people have ever heard surrounding the guy, are the extravagant outfits that he has worn walking into Paycor Stadium.
It is very rare that the NFL world witnesses Burrow talking about things that he really does, and doesn’t, like. That means that when he finally does, everyone listens to what he has to say. While it’s not as serious as some topics that players choose to speak out about, such as Aaron Rodgers explaining the benefits of ayahuasca at a conference, it has still stirred up a lot of controversy. On one of the latest episodes of the popular podcast show, “Pardon My Take”, Burrow said the following when talking about an 18-game NFL schedule:
“Gotta have two bye weeks, and I think it’d be cool to do normal bye weeks like it is now. Have it spread out. But then, like Week 13, do the Pro Bowl break. Where you have the 7-on-7 and all the skill challenges, like the NBA does. Because I think that would give more ratings for the Pro Bowl and then it would also give everybody that bye week going into the last six games of the year.”
This came after Burrow has made multiple claims about how the NFL should switch to two bye weeks, if they decide to play an extra regular season game. Back in April, Burrow tweeted out his own feelings about playing 18 games.
Image Credit: Joe Burrow on X
To complete the timeline between when he sent this out in April, to when he went on “Pardon My Take” in July, he also spoke about this topic during a Bengals press conference in early May.
The positives outweigh the negatives with Burrow’s proposal. Every player would have an extra bye week, unless they are selected to play at the Pro Bowl, to fully recover from playing an extra game during the season; which seems like a fair tradeoff. In addition, the Pro Bowl would be during the middle of the season, so that players have more of an inclination to actually “play” in the games; making the Pro Bowl a little more competitive to what it is at the moment. The best part about Burrow’s wish to the NFL? With an extra game played during the regular season, that would mean that the Super Bowl falls on the Sunday before President’s Day; giving most of America off the following day.
For NFL fans, and even players themselves, this sounds like a “must execute” plan. Other players are even backing up Burrow on what he said, such as San Francisco 49ers tight end, George Kittle, who went on “The Rich Eisen Show” and said the following:
“It’s inevitable... it’s gonna get to 18 games at some point, right? Ever since we got to 17 games, I was like ‘Just give us two byes.’ ... I’m totally fine with that. Just give us two byes.”
Kittle is completely right with what he said about “it’s inevitable” that the NFL will, at some point in time, extend the season to 18 games. When the NFL implemented a 17-game schedule before the 2021 NFL season, it was reported by NPR that the league was going to make $113 billion over the next 11 years, due to all of the television and media agreements that were signed to cover these newfound games. So why would NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, not want a couple more billion dollars coming his way after adding yet another game? Common sense says that for “money making reasons”, an 18-game schedule is bound to happen.
While this “controversy” sounds a little one sided in the way that fans, the majority of players, and the NFL are most likely “in” on the idea, there are also people who don’t want this to go forward. Some players, such as former NFL quarterback, Chase Daniel, have already come out and expressed that this is a terrible idea if you play in the league.
“I guarantee you every NFL player seeing this is NOT happy with Burrow for saying this. The NFLPA is already having meetings about damage control. This is what happens when a top five QB speaks in favor of an 18-game season.”
While more players have come out and stated that they supported Burrow’s idea, there are probably also many, like Daniel said, who are not happy with what he said. Playing another regular season game increases a player’s chance of getting hurt, or even worse, getting hurt before the playoffs. The second bye week is meant to prevent the risk of injury towards players, but playing one more game, is enough to cause a lot of panic in the eyes of NFL athletes.
Once again, on paper this sounds like a great idea. It’s a whole different thing if players, and the league, actually want to go through with this. An 18-game season is not in the works according to Roger Goodell, but it will most likely be happening in the near future; whether players like it or not.
Is Joe Burrow actually making sense with his propositions? Or is this just the first domino falling in Burrow’s plan to get his name in the paper during the offseason? Chances are that he might actually be right about this.