Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

NFL Considers Playoff Seeding Change Amid Expansion Talks

1/1/2026

22 2

Summary

Story summary

The NFL is weighing a shift to seed playoff teams by overall records rather than division champions.
The Detroit Lions proposed seeding by overall records, but the proposal was not voted on.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is speculated to support the change.
The change could be tied to expanding the regular season to 18 games by 2031 and may create mismatches in playoff matchups.

1 of 1

Story summary

The NFL is weighing a shift to seed playoff teams by overall records rather than division champions.
The Detroit Lions proposed seeding by overall records, but the proposal was not voted on.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is speculated to support the change.
The change could be tied to expanding the regular season to 18 games by 2031 and may create mismatches in playoff matchups.