As the NFL continues to expand its reach and capitalizes on the ever-growing popularity of the sport both domestically and globally, talk of adding an 18th regular-season game has become more apparent. The NFL Players’ Association has said players “have no appetite for a regular-season 18th game,” while owners like New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft believes “every team will go 18″ at some point sooner than later. Former MVP quarterback Cam Newton is taking a step back and viewing an 18th regular-season game from both sides. That assessment has him believing preseason games, which every team plays three before Week 1 of the regular season, will become even more diluted. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”Man, it’s a lot on the body,” he told Fox News Digital about another regular-season game added to the schedule, while discussing his Iconic Saga Productions partnership with Offscript Worldwide. “If you really look at it, what’s happening is they’re devaluing preseason games as we know it to be, and they’re trying to put it on the back end. “Because, one thing we all know — and I say this with all due respect — America’s new game has been, for some time, American football. It’s just good business. The Super Bowl garners a global audience that no sporting event can attest to, especially domestically in the United States. So, they know, the more they give, the more they’re able to garner from different audiences.”So, as Newton sees this simply as “good business” for the NFL, he’s implying the league will once again drop a preseason game from a team’s schedule to add the 18th game. It’s what happened when the 17th regular-season game was added in 2021, as the preseason schedule was reduced from four to three games. BILLS STAR DION DAWKINS EXPLAINS HIS ‘COUNTER’ TO POTENTIAL NFL 18TH GAME: ‘CAREERS ARE ONLY GETTING SHORTER’”I think, when you’re talking about the 18th game, it really comes down to if teams are going to really focus on preseason, or negate preseason altogether, just to get right into the regular season. That’s going to be interesting to kind of see,” Newton added.While the NFLPA has pushed back at the potential of an 18th game, citing player safety as one of the main reasons behind keeping the schedule as is, others like Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins see it as inevitable. “It’s going to happen either way,” he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “Then, 20 years later, guess what? We’re talking about a 19th, then we’ll be talking about a 20th. . . . Then it’s like, ‘Yeah, we are combat athletes all year long.’ But who knows,” Dawkins added. For now, 17 games is what the NFL schedule will read in 2026. But, as Dawkins noted, who really knows? To Newton’s point, it’s simply good business as demand continues to skyrocket for the league as each season passes. Newton may not be on the field any longer, but he remains tuned in with the NFL and every othe
Cam Newton views adding 18th regular-season game as ‘good business,’ questions how preseason games will work
