Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who has started every game at the position since 2019,[1][2] offered a player's perspective on the NFL's discussions to expand the regular season to 18 games.

The average NFL career lasts 3.3 years, influenced by the league's competitive depth and injury risks in the contact sport.[3][4] Dawkins highlighted this brevity in weighing the proposal. "Guys' careers are only getting shorter," he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "Not to say that one game is going to make it drastically shorter, but one game can change somebody's entire trajectory of life."

Dawkins recognized the demand driving the idea. "I think the world that we live in is just a different type of world... people want to see football more... So, the 18th game is a beautiful business choice as the league," he said.

The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games starting in 2021 under a new collective bargaining agreement running through 2030.[5] Owners have continued pushing for an 18th game paired with a reduction in preseason contests, while the NFL Players Association has resisted, with former president J.C. Tretter stating in 2023 that players "have no appetite for a regular-season 18th game."[6]

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has described an 18th game as under consideration but "not a given."[7] New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft predicted in a January radio interview that "every team will go 18."[8]

Dawkins predicted the change is inevitable but urged protections for players, noting most contracts lack full guarantees. He suggested potential workload management akin to other sports, though he acknowledged football's intensity where every game counts.

Beyond the field, Dawkins supports underserved youth through his Dion's Dreamers foundation and recently partnered with Crest and Oral-B on their "Closing America’s Smile Gap" initiative to provide dental care via America's ToothFairy.[9]

Sources

1. Buffalo Bills. "Dion Dawkins". Accessed October 2024. https://www.buffalobills.com/team/players-roster/dion-dawkins/
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. "Dion Dawkins". Accessed October 2024. https://www.profootballreference.com/players/D/DawkDi00.htm
3. Statista. "Average length of career of National Football League players by position 2023". March 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/240098/average-player-career-length-in-the-nfl-by-position/
4. NFL Players Association. "Do NFL Players Have Short Careers?". December 13, 2012 (data cited in multiple recent analyses). https://nflpa.com/posts/do-nfl-players-have-short-careers-1
5. NFL.com. "NFL, NFLPA agree on two changes to 2021 season". March 16, 2020. https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-nflpa-agree-on-two-changes-to-2021-season-0ap3000001111k
6. The Athletic. "NFLPA’s JC Tretter talks 18-game season, Tom Brady’s return". February 2023. https://theathletic.com/4198765/2023/02/28/jc-tretter-nflpa-18-games/
7. ESPN. "Roger Goodell: 18-game NFL season 'not off table'". February 8, 2024. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39509847/roger-goodell-18-game-nfl-season-table
8. 98.5 The Sports Hub. "Robert Kraft on 98.5: 'Every team will go 18'". January 2024 (contextual reference; primary audio interview). https://985thesportshub.com/podcast/robert-kraft-on-985-the-sports-hub/
9. Dion's Dreamers. Official website. Accessed October 2024. https://www.dionsdreamers.org/