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Today’s National Football League surely looks very different than it did less than two decades ago.
The schedule has increased to 17 games, of which 18 are certainly not out of the question. Those games are now played in more places around the world than ever before, and you may need a lot of subscription services to watch your favorite teams.
It’s another world that has its pros and cons, but the pros don’t seem to be on the side of the fans, who spend more money than ever to watch their favorite teams.
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New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman (11) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) against the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
To see all the action during the 2025 season, fans had to shell out at least $575, with some spending nearly $800.
“I love having games on the mainstream. I watched games growing up, all the games on the mainstream. I actually didn’t watch a lot of games this year because it was on a broadcast network, and it was hard to create an account really quickly, wherever I was on the road, you know, in a hotel room. I wasn’t at home. I’m all about the mainstream,” future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview. “I understand the business side of the NFL, and as a businessman, I’ll never hate the way it’s going because it’s all about the business, you know? You’ve got to keep growing, you’ve got to get the money and all that good stuff. So you can’t hate that, but I’m a conventional guy.”
“It sucks… There are pros to this and then there are definitely cons that everyone has to go to: ‘Where are we going for this game, that game, that game, this game?'” Gronk’s former teammate Julian Edelman added. “So I think there’s a lot of good things about it, and clearly there are some things that, you know, aren’t good. So that’s my stance on it.”
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New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman raises his hands in celebration with tight end Rob Gronkowski after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola during the third quarter of the NFL divisional playoff football game at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
The NFL has also been more vocal about player safety, however, the talk of going to 18 games is real and the NFL will play in Australia later this year.
But Edelman hardly feels sorry for today’s players because of their contracts.
“Do you see why these guys are signing? They’ll be fine,” Edelman said. “The bigger the game, the more the guys get paid, and it makes them stand out a lot better in the bigger picture. So I think this is a great thing for the league once the game grows internationally because if the game grows, the players will get paid more. So I’m all for that.
“I mean, [Jaxon Smith-Njigba] he just received $42 million (per year) as a catcher. I think the bigger the game gets, I think it’s better for everyone… Would I have liked as a player to play 18 games? No, but we are making the game bigger. It’s a double-edged sword. “It’s going to suck because it’s going to hurt a lot more, but the revenue is going to be bigger.”
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski celebrates with teammate Julian Edelman after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. (Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“That’s why the salary cap keeps increasing every year. The game is expanding,” Gronkowski added. “And on top of that, the NFL does a very good job with scheduling. For example, the Australia game this year will be the opening game of the year on a Wednesday or Thursday, and then when they come back, they’ll win all that time.
“So they have all that time to go there, adjust, be there for five days, and then they can fly back to Los Angeles and then land and earn a day back and then they can recover for three days and then have a normal week. So it’s all about scheduling. I like what they’re doing, and it’s about expanding the business. So if they keep the scheduling the right way so the players can recover well, then I think it’s great for the game.” man. “I really do.”
