Report: New collective bargaining agreement may have 17 game schedule

The NFL/NFLPA continue negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement and the final product may feature 17 regular season games.

Are you ready for some (more) Dolphins football? The NFL has been working diligently with the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) to avoid any potential work stoppage at the end of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement, which is scheduled for the end of the 2020 NFL season. There’s been much negotiations during the course of the 2019 calendar year, including progress that’s been made over the course of recent months and could result in a new agreement by early 2020 — according to a report from Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

What would a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) look like? First and foremost, more Miami Dolphins football. The proposed stipulations reportedly include a reduced preseason schedule, a 17-game regular season schedule and potentially even additional playoff spots for one additional team per conference to get a crack at a Lombardi Trophy each season.

The league and its players will continue to work to find the balance between maximizing potential revenue and player safety, which has been a constant concern of the player’s association throughout these negotiations: more games means more injuries and that is ultimately bad for business.

The intriguing piece of this for Miami is potential of an expanded playoff field — it could benefit the Dolphins and their history in a handful of ways. By the time the new CBA is ready, the Dolphins should be looking to get into contention in the AFC. A 7th playoff spot would benefit the Dolphins immensely as they look to transition into contenders. And an added regular season game adds more difficulty to the prospect of anyone running the table as an undefeated team — which would leave the Dolphins alone in the Super Bowl era as undefeated champions.

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