CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow wasn’t the first to pitch the idea of each team getting two byes if the NFL goes to an 18-game schedule, but the suggestion drew a lot of attention given his high profile.
Burrow repeated the two-bye assertion Monday during an interview with “Pardon My Take” when he repeated an interesting twist that should create a healthy amount of interest and debate.
The quarterback once again suggested a midseason break where every team would get their second bye on the same weekend.
“I think it would be cool to have the normal bye week schedule that it is now, have it spread out, but then like Week 13, do like the Pro Bowl break where you’re doing the 7-on-7 and all the skills challenges like the NBA does,” Burrow said.
“I think that would get more ratings for the Pro Bowl, and then it would also give everybody that bye week going into the last six games of the year,” he added.
Burrow initially threw his support behind the idea of two bye weeks in April when reports began to surface about the imminency of the NFL going to an 18-game schedule, doing so with a simple post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
18 games? 2 bye weeks
— Joey Burrow (@JoeyB) April 26, 2024
A couple of weeks later during his first press conference with the Cincinnati media since the season ended, Burrow was asked about the multiple byes.
“Eighteen games is definitely a big ask,” he said. “That’s not easy adding that extra game. Obviously, it would be great for revenue, but I feel like adding that bye week if you’re going to have the 18-game schedule is pretty critical for our bodies.
“If you keep that first bye week, and some teams have the bye in Week 5, Week 6, and then you’re going 12, 13 games in a row, that’s not easy. Probably a Thursday night game thrown in there, too, so that’s never easy.”
Burrow also floated the NBA-style off-week during that interview but hadn’t given it much thought at that point.
“I don’t know. People that paid a lot of money to have those discussions and make those decisions,” he said. “But we’ll see how it plays out.”
Going to an 18-game schedule would push the Super Bowl to President’s Day weekend, giving many people the day off after the Super Bowl.
But adding a second bye to the mix would extend further, so the league would need to either eliminate the week off after the conference championship games or start the season on Labor Day weekend to follow the Super Bowl with the holiday.
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Also during the podcast interview, which Burrow did as a way to endorse his partnership with Bodyarmor, the quarterback answered questions about his recent trip to Paris and walk down the runway in a backless suit for Vogue during Paris Fashion Week.
“Some might say I’ve gone Hollywood,” he said. “I went Hollywood for a week, and now it’s time to lock in for football. I think I’m allowed one week of Hollywood.”
Burrow said he got roasted for his outfit in all of his group texts with teammates and friends, which is something he fully expected.
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