SAN JOSE, Calif. -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said there have been no discussions with the union about adding an 18th game to the season and said lengthening the season again was not inevitable.
The NFL added a 17th game in 2021 and Goodell has expressed interest in the past about adding an 18th game in place of one of the three exhibition games each team plays every season.
Goodell said a number of issues would have to be discussed with the union before an 18th game was added, including whether a second bye week was needed and the size of rosters to make sure it doesn't have a negative impact on player safety and competitiveness.
"We have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly very little of any informal conversations," Goodell said at his Super Bowl LX news conference. "It is not a given that we will do that. It's not something we assume will happen. It's something we want to talk about with the union leadership."
Goodell: NFL must re-evaluate minority hiring
Goodell said the league needs to re-evaluate its approach to minority hiring after an offseason coaching cycle that saw only one of 10 head coaching jobs go to a minority and none to Black candidates.
"We need to continue to make progress," Goodell said Monday. "I believe that and I believe diversity is good for us. ... I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching. But we still have more work to do."
The NFL will have only three Black head coaches next season. There were 10 head coach openings this season and none of them were filled by a Black coach. Robert Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, was the only minority to get a job when he was hired by Tennessee.
This was just the fifth time since the start of the Rooney Rule in 2003 that no Black head coaches were hired during an offseason coaching cycle. The only other time it happened in a year with more than five changes came in 2013 when there were eight openings.
International games to increase in '26
NFL will play its first regular-season game ever in France next season with the New Orleans Saints set to travel to Paris later this year and the league will also head back to Mexico City for the first time since 2022.
The league on Monday announced the plans to play a game at the Stade de France next season in addition to a multiyear deal to keep playing regular-season games at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and a game to be played in Mexico City in December.
"It's the ambition we have to be a global sport," Goodell said. "But it's also the demand we're having. We're hearing from cities that want to host these games and really want to get more American football."
The NFL has already announced its first game in Australia next season with the Los Angeles Rams set to host that game, as well as games in Rio de Janeiro, Munich, and three in London. The league will have nine international games next season and Goodell said it will eventually have 16 international games a year so each team plays one.
"That's an important mark to shoot for and I think we're on our way." Goodell said.
The additions of Australia and France will mean NFL games will have been played in nine countries outside of the United States after next season.
