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It comes as no surprise, but the NFL has officially announced an expansion of the Playoffs. Starting in 2020, the postseason will have fourteen teams with seven from each conference.
NFL clubs approve expansion of postseason beginning in 2020 season:
— NFL (@NFL) March 31, 2020
- Number of playoff teams increased from 12 to 14 (one additional Wild Card team per conference)
- No. 1 seeds in each conference receive a bye
- Wild Card Round expands from four to six games pic.twitter.com/sFiamvSi1C
Saturday/Sunday kickoff times for WIld Card triple-headers:
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) March 31, 2020
1:05 ET
4:40 ET
8:15 ET
The NFL has been discussing expanding the postseason for years, and the new collective bargaining agreement paved the way for this change.
Purely from the standpoint of competition, I can’t see the appeal of this. This waters down the postseason and will probably allow a bunch of mediocre teams to sneak into the Playoffs.
But the league is most focused on money, and extra Playoff games mean extra money. The expansion also means two extra happy fanbases each year, and more teams in the postseason chase in December.
The Jets have missed the Playoffs for nine straight seasons so any extra opportunity for them to earn a spot helps.
What do you think? Do you like the expanded field of postseason teams?