Poll: Is an 18-game NFL season coming soon?

Ahhh, it's football season. Well, not quite. I mean, it's still July 23 and the last two weeks in central Maine have been met with blistering heat up until today's rain. But football season is just around the corner and creeping ever closer.

Veterans arrived today in Foxborough and across the NFL landscape. 28 of the 32 teams have fully reported and by this time tomorrow all 32 teams will be underway.

The season kicks off six weeks from Thursday night, but the story today isn't vets arriving or anything to do with on-field activities, it's the idea of an 18-game season looming in the not-too-distant future.

NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell told The Washington Post that the Players Association and the NFL have had discussions at a "very high level" over potentially adding an 18th regular-season game to the schedule.

Howell told the Post that talks between the NFLPA and the league have not reached the stage of formal negotiations, but acknowledged that he plans to discuss the issue with players in the near future.

Roger Goodell said earlier this year that he favored an 18-game season, adding that he envisions a lengthened schedule that would culminate in a Presidents Day weekend built around the Super Bowl on Sunday night - meaning Monday would be a national holiday.

Howell said the NFLPA would be open to potentially adding an 18th game before the league's current CBA expires after the 2030 season, though personally I doubt we'll be waiting that long for it to happen.

Remember, when the league made the switch to the 17-game schedule, it seemed the NFL wanted to push for 18 games but was met with quick and heavy backlash from the players and the union. If added bye weeks and increased pay can get hammered out, that 18th game is right around the corner.