ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the NFL is close to finalizing a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes a proposal to make a slight change to the league's playoff structure.
The suggestion is to add two more teams, one from each conference, to postseason play starting next season. This change will give the NFC and AFC seven teams each, as opposed to six, and give only one team a first-round bye, instead of two. "That's been agreed to for a long time," a source familiar with the CBA talks told Schefter. "There wasn't a lot of disagreement to that issue."
News of the proposal has created some debate over whether the NFL playoff system actually needs to be tweaked at all.
Others have used this topic as a springboard to speak on more pressing concerns related to the current format.
While there are some other issues in the new CBA that still need to be worked out, including an agreement with the Players Association on implementing a 17-game regular season, there is "mounting optimism" that everything could be done as early as next week, or at least before the start of the NFL's new league year on March 18.
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