The league added a 17th game in 2021, and Goodell has previously expressed interest in a potential 18th game to replace one of the three exhibition games each team plays.

He said any decision would require careful consideration with the union, including issues such as roster sizes and whether a second bye week would be necessary to protect player safety and competitiveness.

Goodell said at his Super Bowl LX news conference: “We have not had any formal discussions about it and frankly very little of any informal conversations. It is not a given that we will do that. It's not something we assume will happen. It's something we want to talk about with the union leadership.”

Goodell also highlighted the need for the league to re-evaluate minority hiring, following an offseason in which only one of 10 head coaching positions went to a minority candidate, and none to Black coaches.

He added: “We need to continue to make progress. I believe that and I believe diversity is good for us. ... I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching. But we still have more work to do.”

Next season, the NFL will have only three Black head coaches. Robert Saleh of Lebanese descent was the only minority hired this offseason, joining Tennessee. This marks only the fifth time since the Rooney Rule began in 2003 that no Black head coaches were hired during a year with more than five coaching changes.

On international expansion, Goodell revealed that the NFL will play its first regular-season game in France next season, with the New Orleans Saints traveling to Paris. The league will also return to Mexico City for the first time since 2022 and has previously announced games in Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Munich, and London.

He added: “It’s the ambition we have to be a global sport. But it's also the demand we're having. We're hearing from cities that want to host these games and really want to get more American football. That's an important mark to shoot for and I think we're on our way.”