Four Negative Sides To The NFL's Newest Collective Bargaining Agreement

For at least the next decade of football, the league is about to construct some of the most major changes in recent history. With a razor thin margin of 1019-959 (per Adam Schefter), the NFL's players voted to approve the proposed collective bargaining agreement. While the new CBA has pages and pages of new rule changes and tweaks, the playoff structure has seem to become everyones main focal point. So here are my four main issues regarding the 2020 - 2030 collective bargaining agreement.

The one seed holds too much power - The NFL holds one of the greatest playoff's in sports. We have seen in the last 10 years, a wildcard team win the Super Bowl and just even last year, we saw one make the AFC Championship. The NFL isn't a stranger to the right team getting hot at the right time and being able to go on a cinderella story of upsets. Now, it would seem that there is a lesser chance of this. Like how the NFL isn't stranger to wildcard teams making a run, they also aren't a stranger to having the #1 seed being upset. With how this playoff structure has been laid out, I find it hard to imagine the #1 seed doesn't have a more clear advantage over every team than it did before being the only team that will be rested when they play in the divisional.

Now, I will be optimistic here for a second and say this can incentivize better and harder play. Teams will be more sole focused on getting that one seed and it means more than ever before. No longer does the second seed get to also have that bye week, and can actually be in a better position by being the second seed like teams in the past have.

Sub .500 teams in the playoffs - Last season, the NFL fans almost had a collective aneurysm as the battle for the NFC East almost resulted in a below .500 team making the playoffs. This isn't anything new though. It seems this almost happens every or every other year. Off the top of my head, I can remember back to 2014, the historically bad NFC South.

That is with a 6 team playoff in a 16 game season we all loved and knew. I am not against more playoff football and a larger slate of games on wildcard weekend. I just know that inevitably, a 7-10 (That is going to take some getting used to) or a 6-11 team will be making the playoffs and we are all going to lose our heads over it. If it is almost happening now, then it will when you add more teams.

But I guess if the Pats grab that second seed and we play Buffalo first round, it is almost like we got a bye week right?

Being competitive when you really aren't- This is the big one. If there was only one reason to oppose this CBA, I think this would be it. Teams and owners can say they are being competitive when in reality, they aren't. By that I mean with an expanded playoff format, teams who don't make the playoffs or who are barely sliding in, can act like they are being competitive and showing progress when in the old format, coaches would have fired and fans asking for owners jobs.

This format can save jobs that wouldn't have been there if we were on the old 16 game season with six playoff spots per conference. We can have coaches and owners come off a 6-11 season and say 'Well guys, we were competitive this year and we almost had that playoff spot" or they slide in being that sub .500 team that I would imagine this format will start allowing and can say "We are a playoff team, can't fire anyone, we made it."

Take the Browns last season as an example. They were 6-10 at the end of the season but before Myles Garrett's incident, they won that game and they were "in the hunt", as the NFL's favorite graphic says. With this new format, that team could have gone on to make the playoffs if things go right. Is Freddie Kitchens fired if the Browns in our new playoff format make the postseason? I am going to guess and say no or at least they have to think longer about it. We don't know, but one thing is for sure, it is harder to fire a playoff coach than one that isn't.

There wasn't anything to fix to start with- It is hard to adjust the change. No matter what the change is. As human beings, most of us resent change of any kind. I find it hard to not think of the most cliche phrase in the book. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". I don't think I will ever be able to understand if there was anything broken with the old format. But leagues love to change, and I guess "keep things interesting". I will welcome in the 2020 season with open arms because I love football but getting used to all these changes will be a hurdle for me and all the stupid sports fans out there. It is the simple things like saying "55" instead of 53 men on the roster.

The fact there is change coming to something we all know so well is going to take a lot of getting used to. Now with the new CBA in place the flood gates will open up. I am sure free agents will begin to be signed and tagged left and right, as the legal tampering period opens up tomorrow. So in the end there is one silver lining above all, football isn't going anywhere and we can play on.

So we're onto 17 game seasons and 14 team playoffs, but don't let this distract you from the fact that the New England Patriots are now the only team to ever go 16-0 in the regular season.