“We’ve killed it forever” - NFL analyst claims 17-game seasons are ruining professional football
The NFL season has just one game left. For many teams, the offseason is already underway and after such a grueling year, the rest is bittersweet. For the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, there's one final game to go.
The NFL added a 17th game in the 2021 season, a desire from the owners for a long time. While they get more money from it (and also from the two extra playoff games), the players suffer from the effects of another game.
Peter King appeared on the PFT podcast and gave his opinion. He focused on what he saw in the Chiefs locker room following the AFC Championship game against the Bengals. For him, the 17-game season is a joke that is a huge problem for the players:
"Every owner should see what I'm seeing right now. Because I bet there were 20 players who walked up from celebrating on the field, or who I saw in the locker room, who were in really tough shape, like Juju Smith-Schuster.
"Just really not doing well. Limping badly. And Mahomes obviously had his problems. But if you look at the receiver group of Kansas City at the end of that game, they were basically guys who, three weeks ago, Andy Reid said, 'Geez, I hope they're not in that game.'
"I just continue to think that it's beyond insane. At some point, these owners should say to Roger Goodell, ‘We are killing the golden goose. We've killed it forever.'"
Peter King thinks the NFL must get rid of the 17-game season
For the famous NFL journalist, it's time to ditch the 17-game season because the players' bodies are suffering. He also alluded to other players that are entering the Super Bowl with injuries:
"The least surprising press release to me sometime after this season will be the press release that says 'Jalen Hurts to undergo clean out the right shoulder'. We must stand up and not allow whatever fraction of owners who will want the 18 games, no matter what the money is.
"We've got to draw a line in the sand right now. And in fact, I think they ought to push it back to 16. But I doubt they will."
A lot of people think that the 17-game season was a bad idea from the start, but the owners were more interested in the money. It will be interesting to see if this becomes a storyline in the 2023 offseason.