The NFL Is Considering Some Major Postseason Shake-Up
The NFL’s postseason might be on the verge of a dramatic overhaul. League owners are preparing to vote on a potential playoff format change that could take effect as early as the 2026 season—and fans, teams, and analysts are already freaking out.
What Changes Are Being Proposed?
- Expansion to 16 teams; adding one more team per conference would eliminate the first-round byes.
- Reseeding after Wild Card weekend; highest-seeded teams always play the lowest-seeded survivors.
- Neutral site conference championships; similar to college football bowl games, this would remove home-field advantage and centralize big playoff games.
Why Is the NFL Exploring a New Playoff Format?
Well, its pretty simple, to make more people money. When there’s more playoff spots, then more teams will have a chance at making it into the tournament. When more teams have a chance, then there’s a larger push for the final spots and more fans are excited. When the fans are excited—more money. League executives also see an opportunity to create more primetime matchups and boost additional revenue from expanded broadcasting rights.
How Would This Impact NFL Teams and Players?
Resting starters in Week 18 might become obsolete. There will be more fights down the wire for the last spots making regular season rest almost impossible.There also will be more hopeful “bubble teams”, and in return, fans would get more meaningful games down the final stretch of the season.
Final Thoughts
The NFL has never been afraid to evolve and this latest proposal is just another attempt at trying to modernize the game and squeeze all the possible revenue out of a season that they can. Whether or not the changes pass, the conversation around how we experience the postseason is far from over.
What do you think? Is the tush push next?
