The landscape of the NFL is forever changed with the alteration of the regular season length now increasing to 17 games.
Altogether, this shouldn’t be a surprise for players for fans alike as it was voted in as an agreed part of the new collective bargaining agreement last March.
It was a controversial measure at the time, and remains so today. Out of a total voting group of 1,978 players, the proposal passed, but only by 60 votes.
A small margin of victory got the proposal through, but with that, comes opinion and discourse as is the way of social media today.
Most have been quiet on the Broncos’ front, but Kareem Jackson tweeted in Monday afternoon voicing his frustration with the announcement. Not only that but former Bronco Phillip Lindsay chimed in with a “Say it again bruh!!” comment to emphasize that they feel this is not in their best interest.
Jackson also took the time to comment on the Broncos’ Instagram to emphasize the point.
He is not the only NFL-er who is angry with the change. Alvin Kamara, Adrian Amos and Darius Slay also came out in opposition of the move and they most assuredly will not be the last to voice their opinions on the subject.
Change can be a difficult thing to stomach in life and doubly so when it affects your job. We have all balked at the notion of putting in additional hours for an employer, especially when we feel as though we put our heart and soul into what we do, and seemingly without direct benefit to ourselves.
NFL players are people, and they feel this just as directly as anyone else would, but when your body is your career, an additional game a year for the sake of the fans and owners likely feels akin to an unneeded trip to the training room…or worse.
“The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same place within their division the previous season, the AFC was determined to be the home conference for the 17th game in 2021,” The NFL announced in regard to how the opponent for the 17th game would be determined.
After all of the mental gymnastics required to decipher that statement, that would make the Detroit Lions the addition to the Denver Bronco’s 2021 regular season schedule.
Whether you love or hate the addition of 1 more game to the schedule it is here to stay through 2030 barring some sort of renegotiation.
The players have a legitimate gripe, and it is understandable why they would be frustrated with this change, especially when approximately 500 players did not vote on the matter. Again, change is rarely fun but it is the new normal in today’s NFL.
