Is there overtime in NFL preseason games?

There is nothing more un-American than a tie. Yet for some reason, it can kind of, sort of be allowed in the NFL, which completely defeats the premise of our great country's most machismo game. In high school, I get ties. These are kids, man. In college football, there are no ties to be had, as you must play until the final score is decided, rain or shine or whatever. But what about during the NFL preseason?

No, don't be stupid. Why would the NFLPA ever allow such a thing? When a game is tied after a full four quarters, each team packs up its bags and goes home, hoping they didn't lose anyone of significance for the season. It is why the NFL has gone from having four preseason games a year down to three. This has paved the way for a far more important 17th game of the regular season.

Even though football is a game of injuries, why on god's green earth would anyone ever want to play any more exhibition games than they have to? Honestly, why should the NFL even have preseason games? College football doesn't. It has spring games, which are overhyped intrasquad scrimmages that take place in March or April. The NFL has preseason games because of limited roster space.

So even if a game is all tied up at the end of regulation, treat it as if you were watching an EPL match.

Why the NFL does not have overtime periods during preseason games

Until college football mirrors the NFL in terms of fully compensating their players for their names, images and likenesses to the fullest, there will always be some discrepancies with things like the preseason. Since roster size is never really an issue on college football, they don't have to worry about the potential casaulites suffered in preseason as much. The NFL does not have as many guys.

To be frank, the same principle of ending games in a draw in the preseason apply in all North American professional sports leagues. Do you think baseball is going to have a 17-inning game between the Los Angeles Angels and Colorado Rockies in the Cactus League in some random Arizona town on some random Wednesday afternoon? You may love baseball, but MLB does not!

Ultimately, we should view preseason as extended tryouts rather than glorified practices like college spring games. We want to see who is going to make this team. Everybody taking part in the spring game has already made the team. Those playing in the latter stages of preseason contests are vying for roster spots. Since that is important, they must be played, but nobody wants their star to get hurt.

There will never be overtime in NFL preseason games, just like there will never be a team in Omaha...