As a master of its domain in the sports entertainment industry, the business that is the NFL is looking to push its boundaries even further with the continued discussion of regular season expansion. Reports have long been suggested that the league may look to add two regular season contests for what the NFL claims is in the best interest of its fans. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is set to expire in March of 2011 and that predicament could lead to a work stoppage if there is no progress between the NFL players union and the owners on several fronts.

There is no doubt that regular season expansion will be a sticking point for the players in this discussion as plenty have already expressed their displeasure with the idea. Coupling that with the notion that owners would like a significant decrease in players’ salaries and the two thoughts just fail to align. The owners are in essence asking the players to do more work for less money when it comes down to it if the proposed idea becomes a reality. In the current situation where there are 4 preseason games and 16 regular season tilts, coaches and players use discretion as to which guys suit up for the exhibition games and which take part in the real deal. With two more battles when all of the chips are down, starters and high profile names will be on the field for a lot more action if this idea becomes a reality.

One of the main sticking points was vocalized by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who said: “I’ve taken part in several postseason runs where we have played 20 games. The long-term impact this game has on our bodies is well documented. Look no further than the players that came before we did. Each player today has to play three years in order to earn five years of postcareer health care.” Although this is just a game to you or I, the NFL is a career for those taking part in the sport making a living via the grueling hours of work that they put in to be successful. Brady’s standpoint is a near unanimous one amongst his NFL brethren and his point is more than valid.

When negotiating a structure of parameters under which a job will be performed, each of us would do the same as these players trying to receive the most benefits for the amount of work that we perform. The NFL also has to seriously consider the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ in this case. With ratings higher than ever and more interest worldwide than the league has ever seen, why would they risk diluting such a great product with an overkill of games? The urgency factor of each regular season match-up is what makes the league so appealing as opposed to the NHL and NBA where 82 game schedules allow teams to be streaky and the MLB’s 162 games is just a snooze-fest. Wake up before this money grab becomes something that in some way diminishes the product, NFL. No expansion, please.

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