DeMaurice Smith Reveals Timeline for NFL's Expansion to 17-Game Season

Various NFL stars have come out and voiced their indignation with the new collective bargaining agreement's proposed terms, which includes instilling a 17-game regular season.

It goes without saying that most players wouldn't want to see a 17-game season implemented at all, but they now at least have a realistic timeline as to when it will be introduced.

DeMaurice Smith, the Executive Director of the NFL Player's Association, claimed that the extended campaign wouldn't kick in until the 2021 season, at the earliest.

"Probabaly '21 at the earliest. But a lot of that depends on the television deal, of which the players get 55 percent." - NFLPA exec. director DeMaurice Smith on when 17 games would kick in on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) March 6, 2020

There it is.

Much to the dismay of players around the league, it's seeming increasingly likely that 17 regular season games are coming to the NFL. Unfortunately for the players, Smith noted that they are prohibited to complain or object if the Player's Association ratifies the new CBA.

Smith: NFL players can't complain if they accept 17-game season https://t.co/jWBjF81MeT
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 6, 2020

Whether or not the owners genuinely want to add another game to an already-grueling schedule is up for debate, but the sheer revenue that would be generated from all 32 teams playing another contest is simply too enticing for the owners to pass up.