The expansion from 16 to 17 regular season games apparently wasn't enough for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as he is now eyeing an 18th game. This would push the Super Bowl back from the second Sunday in February (after it had been on the first Sunday during the 16-game season) to Presidents' Day weekend.
“I think 18 weeks would get you to that point, and I think it would be a really great move," Goodell saidrecently.
This, of course, would place the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 on the same day, and that's not a winning combination for NASCAR.
The Daytona 500 hasn't always been held on Presidents' Day weekend, but that is its traditional slot. That is the weekend with which it was associated from 1971 to 2011, and that is the weekend with which it has been associated for the past eight years going back to 2018. It is also the weekend on which it's scheduled for 2026.
Inevitable: Daytona 500 eventually going to be moved
Realistically, with the Daytona 500 still on Fox following NASCAR's new seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal, the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 on the same day is simply not an option, even though Fox only airs the Super Bowl every couple of years.
While the Daytona 500 starts in the afternoon, there would inevitably be an overlap with the Super Bowl's traditional 6:30 p.m. ET start time, given the likelihood of cautions, overtimes, and yes, rain in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Considering how NFL is king in the United States, they will absolutely be the ones to bully NASCAR into changing its date for the "Great American Race". And you know if Fox has anything to say about it, the "Big Game" is clearly the priority over the "Big Race".
That could have widespread effects on the rest of the NASCAR schedule from February to November, with several other tracks forced to give up their usual dates to account for a season that starts one week later than usual.
But for the NFL? All it amounts to is adding another game (which none of the players want, but that's beside the point; Goodell does). It's no big deal on their side.
Of course, it's not the NFL's job to be looking out for NASCAR's best interests. But that doesn't change the fact that these comments aren't exactly welcome news for NASCAR fans, because it's an early taste of the reality that is NFL forcing NASCAR's hand.