The NFL officially moved to a 17-game regular season starting with the 2021 season, after owners approved the change in March 2021 and the 2020 CBA allowed it.

Key date and season

  • The 17-game format was adopted by a league vote of team owners in late March 2021.
  • The expanded schedule took effect immediately for the 2021 NFL regular season, ending the 43-year run of the 16-game schedule that had been in place since 1978.

How the 17th game works

  • Each team now plays one extra interconference opponent (AFC vs NFC) matched by prior-year divisional standings, creating the 17th game.
  • The league kept one bye week per team and reduced the preseason from four games to three to stay within the CBA’s 20-game limit for preseason plus regular season.

Home/away and yearly rhythm

  • In 2021, AFC teams hosted the extra 17th game; in odd-numbered years the AFC hosts the extra game, and in even-numbered years the NFC hosts, so teams alternate between 9 and 8 home games year to year.
  • This alternating pattern was designed to keep the overall home-field advantage reasonably balanced across multiple seasons, even though a single season can give a slight edge to one conference.

Why the NFL expanded

  • The change was enabled by the 2020 collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA, which gave the league the option to expand the schedule.
  • The main drivers were increased revenue and broadcast value: more regular-season content to sell, plus an extra week of nationally relevant games, which the league framed as a way to grow the sport domestically and internationally.

Impact on the calendar

  • With an extra regular-season week, the playoffs and Super Bowl are effectively pushed back by about one week on the calendar compared with the old 16-game era.
  • As a result, the Super Bowl is now scheduled for the second Sunday in February instead of the first, cementing a slightly longer NFL season for fans and broadcasters.

TL;DR: The NFL went to 17 games in the 2021 season, after a March 2021 owners’ vote made possible by the 2020 CBA, trimming the preseason to three games and slightly pushing back the postseason calendar.