Feeling dumb

[Ritterskoop]

The NFL is considering a 17-game schedule in their next CBA (the players will probably reject it, so it probably doesn't matter).

Our AP story is saying

Most team schedules will have nine home games and eight road games.

and we cannot turn out heads sideways enough to make sense of this - how can it be "most" and not half?

I get that there would be more games in London and Mexico City, but someone is still listed as home and visitor.

[Ritterskoop]

The players union has already rejected it, so it truly is moot for now, but still.

How can most teams have a better home schedule? It is like Garrison Keillor's thing about everyone being above average.

[silverscreenselect]

The players union has already rejected it, so it truly is moot for now, but still.

How can most teams have a better home schedule? It is like Garrison Keillor's thing about everyone being above average.

My understanding was that the 17th game would be at a neutral site, so that no team would have nine games in its own stadium. Even so, just like in college bowl games, one team is designated the home team for purposes like uniform selection, choice of lockers, coin flips, and other factors that depend on which is the home team.

But you're right in that each game has one home and one visiting team so half the teams would have nine home games. It's like in college conferences like the Pac-12 and Big 10 with nine-game conference schedules. Each season, half the teams have five home games. (Presumably a team with the extra home game one year would not have it the second year)

[Ritterskoop]

OK, the union committee rejected it; the players still have to vote.

[Ritterskoop]

They changed the story to say most teams would alternate eight home games one year and nine the other.

Whew.

[lilclyde54]

Am I incorrect in thinking that the Executive Committee of the Players Union voted 6-5 against approving this proposal but that the full 32 member players representative group voted to send this proposal on to the entire players membership for a vote ?

[Ritterskoop]

Yes, the players still get to vote, though all who have spoken about it say they will vote against it.