Proposed 17-Game Schedule is Last Remaining Item Holding Up New NFL CBA Debate

With the NFL potentially approaching yet another lockout, one aspect of the league's collective bargaining agreement is serving as a huge road block to the conclusion of the ongoing negotiations.

At the insistence of Commissioner Roger Goodell, league officials have pushed for an extended regular season, which would be composed of 17 games rather than 16.

If the future structure of the regular season were to stay at only 16 games, the thinking is a new CBA already would be done, I’m told.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 11, 2020

It appears as though the deliberation regarding the regular season length is the final hurdle between the two sides as they look to avoid another lockout. Should the league cave in to the demands of the NFLPA (who oppose extending the season length), it would appear as though an agreement between the two sides would be imminent.

With the ugliness of the league's last lockout in 2011, a compromise between these two sides would be the best case scenario for everyone, especially us fans.

Something that could throw a real wrench into things this NFL offseason is another potential lockout #PatMcAfeeShowLIVE pic.twitter.com/ritxzz4kZP
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 10, 2020

Knowing the stubbornness of these two parties, it's unlikely that anything will be resolved in the next few weeks. Thankfully, we have playoff football to distract us in the mean time.