formally agreed to add a 17th regular season game on Tuesday, the first expansion of the league’s schedule since 1978. To make room for the extra game, the league’s owners removed one preseason game, leaving three for each team. The upcoming regular season will begin on Thursday, Sept. 9 and end one week later than usual, on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022. The current collective bargaining agreement, reached in March 2020, gave team owners the option to add an extra regular season game if the league signed at least one new media deal. With the addition of a 17th regular season game on top of the two extra playoff games the league added last season, the N.F.L.

Source: International New York Times March 30, 2021 19:59 UTC