If you want to know the direction in which the NFL is ultimately going, just conclude it'll be whatever winds up making more money.
Seriously, it'll help you predict what will happen.
Ever since the league tacked on a 17th regular-season game after the 2020 pandemic-altered season, there's been talk of yet another game added to the docket, and it does make sense; an equal amount of home and away games for each franchise every year.
But that's one more week of wear and tear on players' bodies. Injury attrition inevitably will be a larger problem with more games on the schedule, and all the logistics and trickle-down effects of a full season will only be exacerbated.
If it makes the NFL more money, though, you can already predict what'll happen.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, however, has an alternative solution, and it actually makes a plain good deal of sense.
George Kittle proposes 2 bye weeks to aid 17-game schedule
Kittle spoke with CNBC's Alex Sherman recently, and it's safe to say the All-Pro isn't a fan of adding yet another game to the already-lengthy regular-season docket, especially since he's one of several veterans who can still recall what things were like when there were only 16 games per year.
"I'm not a huge fan of that," Kittle said of the extra tilt, via 49ers Webzone. "We added a game already, and pay wasn't increased. And you're going to add an 18th game and not increase pay again."
Instead, Kittle recommended adding another bye week while maintaining each team's current docket of 17 regular-season games.
"I think that there should be two byes already for 17 games because when all of your star players are getting hurt, I don't think it's very good for the brand," Kittle added. "What you could do, instead of adding an 18th, you just add another bye. And then, the season is 19 weeks regardless, because then everybody gets two byes.
"So, let's just do that, and it makes it easier on the players just a little bit, lets their bodies rest a little bit, and you get higher quality football for longer."
Returning to the money, the NFL would still be able to add its reach to another week on the calendar, pulling in revenue from in-game commercials, TV/streaming deals and so on. So, that should make the league happy.
Whether or not the NFL will listen to Kittle's proposal, though, is another matter.
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