Report: NFL would add 2 playoff teams under new CBA; 17-game season possible

The NFL would add two teams to the playoffs, increase the number of regular-season games and shorten the preseason under a proposed collective bargaining agreement that would also increase the players’ revenue share, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.

Schefter reported Wednesday that the CBA proposal offered by owners expands the playoff field to 14 — seven teams per conference.

Under that premise, the Pittsburgh Steelers would have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. They finished seventh in the AFC in 2018 after closing the season 2-4, and they lost their last three games in 2019 to finish seventh again.

Only one team in each conference would get a first-round bye, and six games would be played on wild-card weekend under the proposed changes, Schefter reported.

A proposed 17-game regular season and three-game preseason would not start until the 2021 season at the earliest, Schefter reported. Under the proposed CBA, players would go from 47% revenue share to 48% if they agree to stick with 16 regular-season games. But if they agree to 17 games, the would jump to 48.5%, which would add $5 billion to the players’ share of the money, Schefter reported.

NFL owners were expected to meet Thursday in New York to discuss the ongoing negotiations with the NFLPA, NFL.com’s Jeremy Bergman reported.

The league last made a change to the playoff format in 1990, when the field was expanded to 12 teams.