The NFL has been gunning for an expanded regular season for a long time now. The point of a 17 game season is not to appease fans, who have never asked for it, or players, who almost certainly do not want it. It’s to pump more money into team coffers and by extension the pockets of owners, and that’s become especially urgent after limited-to-no attendance helped ensure teams took a big financial hit in 2020.
Naked money grabs are nothing new for this league or any other, and the NFL can push this along under the premise of giving the fans more football.