Putting more Rams punch into NFL’s 17 game schedule

The NFL has recently added a 17th game to the LA Rams schedule. Well, to the schedule of all 32 NFL teams for that matter. While this is great news if you want the season to be longer, they left two opportunities on the table. Both proposals could work together to add another week of TV revenue as well as advance their marketing for additional international exposure and additional TV revenue.

The first proposal is simply to add another bye week. With players playing an extra game they take a bigger toll on their bodies. They need more time to rest and recover to avoid any injuries that a longer season would entail. Plus, as witnessed in the 2020 NFL season, shorter periods of playing time would give injured players natural points in time to rejoin the team.

A second proposal involves playing the 17th game at neutral sites.  Adding an added bye week would allow for more travel creating the possibility for an international game if you will. While the owners found some balance by swapping home games between the conferences every year, in the microcosm of each individual season, it is imbalanced. It still hurts the chances of one conference’s record vs the other.

Making each added game international puts every team on neutral territory for the odd-numbered game making each season fairer. It also adds another source of revenue helping the owners line their pockets and boosting the cap.

Imagine a game in Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Brazil, and South Africa to just name a few places they could play. It puts a game in each inhabited continent and grows the international fanbase. The NFL has already played games in Mexico and England with impressive results.

Okay. So here is how combining these two proposals would work. Schedule two Thursday Night Football games, After that game, the teams would play one of the other two teams at a neutral site at an international location. Since the teams will have 10 days until the following Sunday, travel will not be overly taxing on either team. Then, play the game in Europe or Asia on Football Sunday.

After the game, the teams that played internationally will receive their extra bye week. Players get a chance to rest and relax in a foreign country or return home to get a second staycation with their family.  And with the second bye week, that would allow enough time to return back to the states, get rid of any jet lag from returning home, and get in their practice and film study.

Good Idea or completely dumb? How would you revise this idea or the schedule?