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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed media this week following the league's spring ownership meetings, offering a glimpse into the league's long-term priorities.
While the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL and the Players Association runs through 2030, speculation around future changes, especially concerning an expanded regular season and more international games, has already begun to surface.
Salary cap, stadium costs dominate NFL owners meeting
Despite that speculation, Goodell emphasized that formal negotiations on a new CBA are not imminent.
"There are no formal plans on any discussions," he said.
"We obviously continue to be in close communication with the [players] union on a variety of matters, but no start of negotiations have been set or are under consideration really at this point."
Still, the tone and content of the meeting suggest that the league is already laying the groundwork for its future objectives.
According to Goodell, the owners spent significant time discussing two key areas: the integrity of the salary cap system and the rising costs associated with running NFL franchises.
"The two areas that we spent time on were really the cap system itself, how's it working, where do we need to address that in the context of collective bargaining, when that does happen," Goodell said.
"The second is just the rising cost, the cost of stadiums, the cost to facilities, the cost of operation, the cost of investment, and how dramatically that's impacting the ownership view."
One topic that did not come up during this round of meetings, according to Goodell, was the much-discussed possibility of expanding the regular season to 18 games.
"The 18-and-two [season format] did not even come up," he noted.
However, the league has made no secret of its ambitions to grow both its schedule and global footprint.
Earlier this week, Goodell named the goal of staging 16 international games per season within five years, a target that would require adjustments to the current agreement with the NFLPA.
While no timeline has been set for official negotiations, the league's messaging points to future efforts to shift financial structures in favor of ownership.
With costs rising and franchise values soaring, owners appear focused on retaining a larger share of revenue, even as player salaries climb.
For now, the NFLPA remains in wait-and-see mode, but the league's early signaling suggests the next round of CBA negotiations will be anything but quiet.