Tag: Expansion

NFL officially expands playoff format to 14 teams 

The NFL announced today that officially 14 teams would be able to qualify for the postseason after clubs voted on the agreement.

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The Kansas City Chiefs will have another team to deal with if they hope to repeat as Super Bowl champions next season. The NFL announced today that officially 14 teams would be able to qualify for the postseason after clubs voted on the agreement.

The addition of two teams in the postseason was addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was recently agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA. Two additional Wild Card team’s, one in each conference will qualify for the next season’s playoffs. The top seed in each conference will receive a bye in the Wild Card round. The new format eliminates the first-round bye for the second-seeded teams from each conference.

The other division champions of each conference via their overall records will be seeded 2, 3, and 4. The wild card teams per conference with the best records are slated to be seeded 5, 6, and 7, respectively. Wild Card Weekend for the upcoming season will show three games on Saturday, January 9, and three games on Sunday, January 10, 2021.

Last year, the Chiefs were ironically a No. 2 seed that benefitted from the bye week. They wouldn’t have that luxury moving forward under the new system. The emphasis on teams needing to secure the top seed in the conference has never been higher and should limit late-season resting of starters.

In addition to the new rules changes, the NFL announced that television networks CBS and NBC will broadcast the new wildcard games, including a special kids simulcast of a game on Nickelodeon.

The additional two teams and revamped format should energize Wild Card Weekend even more and increase late-season battles. The Chiefs Kingdom will be revitalized for the quest to repeat as the league continues to work toward expanding its viewership.

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Roster expansion included in new CBA proposal

More players would be available to play in the NFL’s new CBA proposal.

The NFL and NFLPA are still working their way through the new Collective Bargaining Agreement proposal. While owners have voted to accept the terms of the latest CBA proposal, the players have yet to come to an agreement on it and for good reason. They’re making sure they make an educated decision before agreeing to the terms set forth by NFL ownership.

Among some of the changes included in the proposed CBA are expansions to gameday rosters, active rosters and practice squads. Owners want a 17-game season and part of their consolation is to allow more players to be available to play.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, 53-man rosters would become 55-man rosters, 48 players would be gameday active instead of 46, and practice squads would increase by two players this year and two more players in 2020.

Teams would also be allowed to bring three players back from the injured reserve list. That’d have made a difference for the Chiefs during their Super Bowl LIV run as RB Darrel Williams was ready to play again in January, but Kansas City had already brought two players back from IR.

There’s also another provision related to rosters in the new CBA proposal, as teams will see the active squad increased by one offensive lineman. This rule operates as the old third quarterback rule did. Basically, teams will be allowed an extra active offensive lineman only if the players ahead of them suffered injuries during the game. This rule is significant, as the Chiefs almost had to rely on Travis Kelce as an emergency offensive lineman during Week 10.

The Chiefs are in good hands as their player representative for the NFLPA is the longest-tenured player on the team, punter Dustin Colquitt. He’ll keep fighting the good fight and working toward a fair CBA for both ownership and players. Hopefully, these roster related provisions are included in the final product because they’re long overdue.