By Jimmy Schefter, NFL Reporter

Disclaimer: The following article is satire, as it was apart of an April Fool’s edition.

NFL administrators have announced that the NFL will expand its season from 18 games to 82 for the upcoming season.

The move to make such a huge expansion has received mixed reviews. Owners and city officials hosting NFL teams have praised the move for being “forward thinking” and “reinvigorating the finances of the sports market” by allowing teams to play more games. Others, like the players, the player’s families, the NFL Players Association, officials’ union, stadium groundskeepers and medical staff collectively facepalmed and rolled their eyes.

“We found that adding an 18th game allowed a bunch of records to be broken and extra money to be made,” an NFL representative said in a press conference to the media following the decision. “So we decided ‘Why not go all in and milk this great American cash cow for every dime we can?’”

The representative declined to comment when a reporter asked why his eyes lit up bright green and changed to big dollar signs during the conference.

The main concern being brought up with this increase in schedule length is player safety. Several medical officials have noted that continuously playing football for that length of time can lead to concussions and permanent damage to the body — or, in Joseph Ossai’s case, injury to one’s pride.

When asked for a response, a medical official endorsed by the league (dressed in Dolphins-branded athleisure) said the complaints were “nonsense.”

“Concussions and torn ACLs are just part of the game. Just slap on a Band-Aid, give them a Saltine and they’ll be fine,” the rep said.

A yet-to-be-confirmed leak of the NFL season script has also been in circulation on social media. In the draft, the Las Vegas Raiders go 69-13, make a miraculous run to a Super Bowl victory and then have the entire team get arrested for speeding on their way to the White House.