An 18-game NFL season has been discussed as a near certainty in recent years, but the league may find its hopes and dreams in doubt amid upheaval at the NFLPA.
After numerous reports exposed conflicts of interest, shady business dealings, and potential collusion from former NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell earlier this month, the union head resigned earlier this month. One reporter at the forefront of that story, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., is now discussing potential knock-on effects of Howell’s resignation.
Appearing on The Varsity podcast with Puck’s John Ourand, Van Natta keyed in on the proposed 18-game season as one of the league’s desires that might get hung up under new NFLPA leadership.
“We very likely, John, are back to square one,” Van Natta said. “18 games was seen as a near certainty, not just by [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell, but by owners around the league that I had been talking to. In our story that we did this past Tuesday, that I did with Kalyn Kahler, we had two owners, independently, in the summer of 2024, saying that they believe that 18 games was a certainty.
“Here’s why they believed it. Because Lloyd Howell Jr. said it! He said it out loud to The Athletic in the summer of 2024. He said, ’18 games would be great! Who doesn’t want more football?’ Which is a remarkable statement for the head of the National Football League Players Association to say on the record before any negotiations start. The very best leverage you have as an NFLPA union head is 18 games.
“And so, Howell is saying out loud that he wants that without ever getting any concessions. And he said it again to the Washington Post. And, you know, that concerned a lot of people because my reporting shows, John, that he never spoke to any players about whether they wanted it. And he had to walk those comments back at the Super Bowl, this past Super Bowl in New Orleans at the press conference, and he said, ‘Well, wait a minute. 18 games is not necessarily a certainty. No one that I have talked to wants 18 games.’
“So this is just a reflection of Howell being so pro-business minded. That was his background, obviously, being at Booz Allen as a top executive, including Chief Financial Officer when he left after 34 years. And he said something that, people that I’ve talked to who have worked for unions, union lawyers, say it’s just a remarkable thing that he said. And so clearly, he was somebody I think that the owners and the people at Park Avenue at the league office said, ‘Okay, we like this guy. This is a guy we feel we can actually get a really good deal when the next CBA comes up.’ And that’s clearly one of the problems I think that he had; that there was a disconnect between him and the players on probably the most important issue confronting the union and the league in the coming years.”
Considering the totality of reporting around Howell in the past month, it’s reasonable to draw the conclusion that an 18-game season would’ve been a breeze to negotiate under his leadership. At every turn, Howell seemed like a union leader eager to play ball with the very people he was hired to negotiated against.
Now, as the NFLPA searches for new leadership, it’s much more likely the new union head will be eager to play hardball. As Van Natta mentioned, the 18-game season is the biggest piece of leverage the players have. Goodell has regularly discussed an 18-game season being critical to the league’s goal of a 16-game international slate that, in turn, can be sold as an additional media rights package. The players can certainly use that desire against the league, especially under a new executive director.