97.1 The Ticket -- There could soon be one more playoff spot up for grabs in the NFL.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday afternoon the league's owners are pushing for an expanded playoff field, adding one more team to each conference. The owners are also angling to increase the regular season to 17 games, as part of the collective bargaining agreement they are currently proposing.
NFL playoff structure is about to be changed. Under the current CBA proposal, seven teams from each conference will make the playoffs, with only bye per conference, sources tell ESPN. It would go into effect this upcoming season. More coming on https://t.co/rDZaVFhcDQ.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 19, 2020The expanded playoff structure would mean only the top team in each conference would receive a first-round bye, while the other six would play on Wild Card Weekend.
Under the proposed format, that means the Rams and Steelers would have got into the playoffs this season. The seeding of the new format was not disclosed, but the seventh team would presumably play at the No. 2 seed, while the other matchups would remain the same -- No. 6 @ No. 3 and No. 5 @ No. 4 -- and teams that received the first-round bye would host the lowest remaining seed during the divisional round.
Schefter says a source claims the expanded field has "been agreed to for a long time" and "there wasn't a lot of disagreement to that issue."
Players on the teams that earn first-round byes would receive postseason pay, according to Schefter -- something that has not been the case under the current CBA.
"Now the sides are trying to work through the final issues, including getting the players to sign off on a 17-game regular season. That has yet to be agreed to, and it would not take effect until 2021 at the earliest," Schefter wrote.
