49ers’ George Kittle sounds off on potential 18-game NFL season

There is little doubt that the NFL would like to expand the regular season to 18 games per team. The league already increased the schedule from 16 to 17 games in 2021, and many around the NFL believe another expansion is only a matter of time.

Like many players, however, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is not enthusiastic about the idea. The veteran star pointed to the physical toll of the current schedule as an issue.

However, Kittle shared what he believes would make players more open to an 18-game season.

"Number one, you've got to have an extra bye, regardless," Kittle told Baker Machado of Front Office Sports. "The season's too long as it is. I think 16 games was perfect. They added an extra game for more TV stuff, which, hey, I get it. It makes everybody more money. If you're going to add an 18th game, you've got to add an extra bye."

Kittle also addressed the financial side of a longer season, arguing that players should be compensated differently if another game is added to the schedule.

"The one thing that didn't really make sense to me is you signed a contract to play 16 games," Kittle explained. "They added the 17th game, and you don't get paid any more money. Your paycheck just gets cut an extra time. So you're making 17 paychecks instead of 16.

"So, in my opinion, if you just bumped up the payment a little bit for that last game instead of just cutting it again, I think guys would be more interested in that as well.

"But, for me, it's like, you can't keep doing this because the game's hard enough as it is. If you look back to last year, the amount of players who were hurt, it was actually insane. Let's take care of the guys a little bit here."

The 49ers tight end also expressed concern that the NFL could oversaturate the sport. Over the years, the league has steadily expanded its television footprint, with games broadcast across multiple days of the week and on streaming platforms.

In addition to the traditional Sunday and Monday slate, the NFL now features games on Thursdays, Saturdays, Thanksgiving, the day before Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, and other standalone windows throughout the season.

"Playing on the holidays is really fun, but when you have a game on a Wednesday, a Thursday, a Friday, a Saturday, and a Sunday—football was always fun to me growing up because you'd have to wait until Sunday, and then you'd get Monday night, which was a blessing," Kittle said. "And then they added Thursday Night Football, which is fun, and as a vet, I thoroughly enjoy Thursday Night Football.

"But now, you get games on Black Friday, now you get games on Saturdays, and it's just like, I don't know, I don't want to overdo football to people. I think making it special means a lot."

Kittle's opinion is likely shared by many NFL players who worry about player safety, recovery time, and maintaining the overall quality of the game as the NFL continues to chase additional revenue opportunities.