The NFL announced the exact date for Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta, which will now take place on February 13, 2028.
But the big news here isn’t really the date: the Atlanta game site has been known for years, and the event is still 18 months away. The actual news is why the announcement was delayed in the first place: the league has been working toward instituting an 18-game regular season.
Had that come to pass, the league would have needed to push the game back a week to accommodate the extra game (or else start the season over Labor Day weekend, which they seemingly have little interest in doing). Given the announcement that the Super Bowl will remain on its originally expected date, the NFL has essentially disclosed that an 18-game season won’t be happening in 2027.
Why it matters
For fans, an 18-game regular season would be a mixed bag.
On the positive side, it would remove one of the three preseason games from the annual schedule, meaning that season ticket holders wouldn’t be required to purchase those tickets. Fans largely agree that the NFL preseason is a weak and uncompelling product, and being forced to buy it has been a thorn in the side of season ticket holders for decades.
In addition, an 18th game would likely be used for international play, giving fans more opportunities to travel abroad to see their teams without having to sacrifice a domestic game to do so.
On the negative side, an additional regular-season game would likely drive up the total cost of those season tickets; a cheap preseason game would be replaced with a more expensive regular-season game. And this at a time when the price of season tickets has already gone through the roof, starting to price some long-time season ticket holders out.
In addition, an 18-game season might increase the chance of injuries to players, which could hurt any team’s chances for success. There have also been rumors that teams would be required to bench each player for one or two regular-season games in order to manage their workloads, which would make some games far less attractive to fans, particularly when it is their team’s star player sitting out.
And a final downside to the expanded season is that the 18th game, if played internationally, could pull one of the better opponents out of a domestic date and into an international date. In 2026, the Rams will be losing a home game against intrastate rival San Francisco, the Jaguars will lose a high-profile matchup against the Eagles, the Saints will miss out on hosting the Steelers, and Ravens fans will miss out on visiting AT&T Stadium in Dallas for their game against the Cowboys. Those are all games that many fans would typically travel to, but the cost of traveling to them internationally is simply beyond the reach of many of those supporters.
Bottom line
Right now, this is all irrelevant, as the current 17-game schedule will continue to exist at least through the 2027 season. And looking beyond that, the NFL Players Association has continuously pushed back against an 18-game schedule, and until they are brought on board, it simply won’t happen.
But for now, anyone intent on going to Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta at least has a date to plan around.
