A potentially seismic shift in how the NFL postseason is structured could soon be on the horizon. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, NFL owners will vote next week on a proposal that would significantly alter the league’s playoff seeding format.
Key Changes to the Playoff Format
Under the current system, the top four seeds in each conference are awarded to the division winners, regardless of their overall record. However, the new proposal aims to upend that tradition. If passed, playoff seeding would be determined solely by regular-season record, without granting automatic top-four status to division champions.
Here’s a breakdown of the proposed changes:
- Seeding by Record Only: Teams would be ranked 1 through 7 in each conference strictly based on their final regular-season record. Division winners would no longer be guaranteed a home playoff game unless their record justifies a higher seed.
- Division Title Still Matters (as a Tiebreaker): In cases where teams finish with identical records, a division title would serve as the first tiebreaker — not head-to-head matchups.
- Reseeding After Round 1: The league would also implement a reseeding policy after the first round of the playoffs. This means the No. 1 seed would always face the lowest remaining seed in the Divisional Round.
- More Competitive Endings to the Season: One of the NFL’s goals with this change is to keep late-season games meaningful across the board. By removing guaranteed home games for division winners, the league hopes to reduce instances of teams resting starters in Weeks 17 and 18 — a move that often frustrates fans and skews playoff implications.
Why It Matters
If approved, this change could dramatically impact how teams approach their regular-season schedules and divisional matchups. It would raise the stakes for every game, not just within a division but across the entire conference.
For example, under the current format, a team could win its division with a 9–8 record and still host a playoff game, while a 12–5 wild card team would have to travel. This has often led to criticism of the system’s fairness and balance. The new proposal would eliminate those disparities by rewarding overall excellence rather than geographical fortune.
What Happens Next
NFL owners are expected to vote on the measure at the upcoming league meeting. The proposal would need 24 out of 32 votes to pass. If it gains approval, the new format could go into effect as early as the 2025 season.
This potential overhaul marks one of the most significant structural playoff changes in NFL history — and it underscores the league’s commitment to increasing competitiveness and fairness in its postseason system.
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