Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes knows the NFL is strongly considering expanding to an 18-game regular season.
Even so, the three-time Super Bowl champion made it clear he isn’t necessarily a supporter of that initiative.
‘I always say the more games, it’s a little bit more taxing on the guys that play the game,’ Mahomes said when asked about an 18-game season by CNBC’s Alex Sherman.
Mahomes is not alone in his disdain for a potential 18-game schedule. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell at the 2025 NFL combine, ‘The majority of the guys I’ve talked to about it, they already feel that 17 is long enough.’
Still, Mahomes acknowledged there is potentially a way the NFL could make such an arrangement work – if the league is willing to make some other changes to its schedule.
‘I think that you’d have to find a way to have more bye weeks, more time spread out,’ Mahomes told Sherman. ‘Because, I mean, you’ve seen the amount of injuries that have kind of piled up there at the end of seasons, and you want to have the best players playing in the biggest games.
‘So if there were a way to get to 18 games – I’m not a big fan of it – but if there were a way, I think you got to add some bye weeks in there to give more time for guys’ bodies.’
Mahomes has a similar view of the NFL’s international schedule and acknowledged he has enjoyed playing overseas.
The veteran quarterback also believes the league has done a good job building extra travel time into the schedule for most of the league’s international games, whether they lead into a bye week or take place on a Friday, like the Chiefs’ Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Mahomes wants to see that type of forward thinking continue for international games. He additionally believes it could be a critical part of any potential expansion of the regular season.
‘The NFL has to continue to plan well to rest the guys’ bodies, kinda like what I talked about with the 18th game,’ Mahomes said when discussing international games. ‘You have to think about the people and the players as well when you’re talking about expanding the game in any way.’