Cowboys owner Jerry Jones updates timeline for NFL's 18-game schedule, floats preseason reduction
Such a change would require negotiations over roster sizes, player salaries, the preseason schedule and the timing of the Super Bowl.The NFL Players Association would also have to approve the plan before it could move forward.This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated.This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.But Jerry Jones, one of the NFL’s most high-profile and outspoken owners, offered a timeline Friday for when the league could add another regular-season game.
"I don’t think we’re far away from it," Jones told Dallas sports radio station 105.3 FM.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGEDallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at training camp at the River Ridge Fields on July 27, 2025.(Kirby Lee/ Imagn Images)Jones suggested the league could move to an expanded regular season as soon as 2027."I don’t know what is far away — next month, next year, maybe.
Next year, maybe.That has to be negotiated with the players.
But it’s in everybody’s best interest."Interest in potentially adding another game to the schedule for each of the NFL’s 32 teams has been fueled by the league’s growing popularity and expanded international schedule.This season features a record nine games played outside the U.S.A 10-game international slate has been approved for 2027.NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been a vocal supporter of many owners’ push for an 18-game schedule.
Jones suggested the preseason could be shortened if the change becomes reality, with teams using the early weeks of the regular season to ramp up."You’d cut back on the preseason games, you’d have teams more developed in the first few games, the type of thing you were trying to get done in the preseason.It’s in everybody’s interest, and it certainly is in the players’ best interests, in my mind."Jones’ comments suggest an ambitious timeline.The NFL Players As...