By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
After years of discussion, the NFL has officially made the move.
Starting with the 2021 season, each team will play 17 regular season games, the league announced.
Beginning in 2021, the NFL is expanding to a 17-game regular season. pic.twitter.com/skNisJwPS2
— NFL (@NFL) March 30, 2021
The extra game the Eagles will have in 2021 will be against the New York Jets.
In an attempt to lead player’s bodies’ to less punishment, the NFL reduced the number of preseason games to four. Of course, the effect of that is likely minimal considering many of the league’s top players barely appear in those preseason games to begin with.
The move will likely almost immediately start a movement to get an 18th game (and potentially a second bye-week) added to the schedule for owners as they attempt to make more and more money.
While the move, which had been rumored, has not been particularly popular with players, it should lead to a rise in revenue and, in effect, the salary cap. This should help player salaries to continue to rise, though the effect on non-star player salaries is likely to remain rather minimal.
