Colts President: 18-game NFL Season is Done Deal

Football fans across American can rejoice as they are indeed going to get some more (consequential) football.

Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian thinks that the league is all but certain to move to an 18-game regular season and that the move will be announced soon, reports ESPN.

On his Monday night radio show, Polian twice called the decision a "fait accompli" and said that he felt like the debate around the issue is essentially closed.

"I think that the owners, and principally the commissioner, have decided that it's the way to go, and so the debate, such as it was, is over," he said. "I've heard recently, and I'm sorry that this didn't get more coverage earlier, some really, really interesting commentary on it...I wish some of that dialogue had taken place earlier."

The league has not announced any new policy changes and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said that there will be no formal response to Polian's comments.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners have previously expressed support for cutting the pre-season by two games in order to expand the regular season by the same number of games. However, neither the owners, nor the NFL Players Association, have voted on the matter. Representatives for the players have aired doubts about a longer season, citing increased potential for injury as a primary concern. Another concern for players is that a shortened pre-season would cut the evaluation time for players who are fighting for roster spots, making their road to the NFL just a little tougher.

Selected Reading: ESPN, Sportsline, Fanhouse

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