Playoff expansion could lead to preseason changes

Jan 5, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; The NFC Wild Card Banner during the 2013 NFC wild card playoff football game at between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field. San Francisco won 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

With the NFL’s annual meeting set to begin on Monday, league rule changes have begun to share the free-agent focus that has taken over the offseason.

One of the rule changes that is being considered is the expansion of the playoffs to 14 teams from 12.

While it doesn’t look like that will change this year, Bengals president Mike Brown thinks it will happen in 2015 and that it could also offset some changes to the preseason schedule.

"“If you had another wild card game, that would produce a revenue stream that could be used to offset money lost if you did something with the preseason,” Brown said. “I’m not saying there’s just one thing to do with the preseason. There could be a lot of ways to approach it. Cut it back one game, two games. Would you just reduce the prices? I’m not sure how that would evolve, but this gives you an opportunity to do that if you chose and still have a revenue stream that would be comparable, which would appeal to the players, as much as they talk about the preseason. They aren’t looking to go back in revenue. This might be a way to satisfy everybody.”"

Home/Arizona Cardinals