On Tuesday, the NFL announced its owners voted and later approved an agreement to extend the league’s regular season schedule to 17 games beginning in 2021.
“This is a monumental moment in NFL history,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell via a press release.
“The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world.”
As a result of the approved change, the preseason schedule will be cut from four to three games each summer and the New England Patriots now are slated to play the Dallas Cowboys at Gillette Stadium in Week 18 this upcoming season.
The move places 17 games over 18 weeks with one bye week and pushes the Super Bowl ahead one week each February.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero shared full details of the scheduling changes in a tweet Tuesday.
Here are the added 17th games for the 2021 season, plus an outline of how the schedule works going forward: pic.twitter.com/swfcHuTQa9
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 30, 2021
2021 marks the first year of an NFL regular season expansion since 1978 when the schedule grew from 14 to 16 games.
In 1993, the NFL experimented with 16 games over an 18 week schedule that contained two bye weeks, but it was reverted back to 17 weeks after the season.
Additionally, if you’re a Patriots season ticket holder, ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss reported some good news regarding your ticket prices.
Even with the additional regular-season game against the Cowboys in 2021, Patriots season ticket members’ 10-game pricing will not change. https://t.co/0cDzg4iFwl
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 30, 2021
The remaining Patriots 2021 opponents include home games against the Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Buccaneers, Browns, Jaguars, Saints and Titans at Gillette Stadium. They’ll head on the road to take on the Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Chargers, Colts, Falcons, Panthers and Texans.
As for the specific dates and times of each game, the NFL is reportedly targeting the second week of May for a full schedule release.
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