The annual Presidents Day tradition for NASCAR fans involves sitting down to watch the season-opening Daytona 500, but could this change in the future as Roger Goodell pursues an NFL goal?
The NFL Commissioner appeared on the "Today" show on Wednesday and expressed interest in extending the NFL regular season. He said that he thinks it makes a "lot of sense."
"I think if you went to 18 weeks regular season that would probably occur," Goodell said during the appearance. "It is possible somewhere in the calendar.
"Could happen before that just because of the calendar, the way it lays out. But I think 18 weeks would get you to that point, and I think it would be a really great move."
The league's 32 teams currently play 17 games over 18 regular-season weeks. The rest of the season takes five weeks. The wild card round of the playoffs is first, followed by the divisional round and the conference championships.
The NFL season features one "off-week" for the Pro Bowl Games. The final week is the Super Bowl, which traditionally falls on the second weekend of February.
Recent NASCAR seasons have taken advantage of this schedule. The Clash has recently taken place on the first weekend of February as NFL players have competed in flag football and throwing challenges. The Daytona 500 has then taken place the weekend after the Super Bowl and delivered the best ratings of the NASCAR season.
This season's NFL championship game will take place on Feb. 8, 2026. The season-opening Daytona 500 will take place on Feb. 15, 2026, so the two leagues will not go up against each other.
Yet, if Goodell achieves the goal of expanding the regular season in future seasons, this would create a situation where the Daytona 500 would have to move. NASCAR's biggest race delivers sellout crowds and exceptional ratings every year, but the NFL is a juggernaut in the sports world.
Will this expansion happen? That answer remains unclear as it would require the NFL and the NFL Players Association to renegotiate the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which expires in 2031. The league would have to address the player safety concerns due to the extra toll being put on the athletes' bodies.
According to the Associated Press, the NFLPA interim executive director says that he has not yet had any discussions with Goodell about expanding the regular season.