ChicagoBreakingSports
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There's no need to fix something that isn't broken.
Not from Jay Cutler's perspective, anyway. That is what the Bears quarterback said when he was asked about the prospect of the NFL shifting to an 18-game regular season in the near future. It's expected to be an integral part of CBA discussions, and it's fair to say that the CBA might be something that's broken.
"I like the format the way it is," Cutler said. "But it's not going to be up to us, just the CBA and see what they work out. It's a long season as it is right now. Putting two more games on top of it, you'd have to expand the rosters, you'd have to do some other stuff to get players for it."
Other stuff surely includes more money. Players receive 17 paychecks during the season, one for each regular-season game and one during the bye week. If their pay was simply divided out over 18 or 19 weeks, they'd be receiving the same pay for more work, a proposition no one finds appealing. Players aren't fans of four preseason games, but the regulars don't see full action in those games.
Photo: Jay Cutler knows the 18-game schedule proposal will be part of CBA negotiations. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
Coach Lovie Smith has said in the past that he would prefer a shorter preseason. Whether that would mean a shift to more games that count in the standings, he didn't offer much up on Wednesday.
"I follow the commissioner's lead. How's that?" Smith said. "Right now we have a good game. As you look at our season right now as we go through, most teams use three of the preseason games quite a bit. So as long as we're all going by the same rules we will be able to adjust with it. Whatever they decide is what will be."
General manager Jerry Angelo, speaking at a function in Waukegan, said the league's motivation to expand the season is to add more of an international flavor to the game. The NFL sees untapped revenue streams abroad.
"(Goodell) wants to see each team play one game overseas each season," Angelo said. "And the increased schedule would allow that without taking away from the number of games a team's fan base can see."
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