NFL reportedly planning to expand playoffs to 14 teams

Andrew Zuber
·1 min read

The National Football League is expected to make a change to their playoff format when the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is is finalized, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

The proposal will reportedly see seven teams from each conference qualify for the postseason, with only the top seed on each side earning a bye past the first round. Six teams from each conference make the playoffs under the current format, with the top two records skipping the wild card round.

Under this proposed new system, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs would not have received byes in last year’s playoff run. The Packers would have faced off against the Los Angeles Rams, while the Chiefs would have faced the Pittsburgh Steelers. In another small change, players on the team receiving a first-round bye will receive an extra week of playoff pay despite not actually playing a game.

A new CBA has yet to be officially agreed to, but Schefter mentions that there is optimism that a new deal could be done at some point in the next week.

The rumoured changes would take effect immediately, in time to be implemented during the 2020 NFL season.

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