Connect with us

Latest

Behold NFL 2030s: Playing 18-game regular season, every team visits overseas, two preseason games

Published

2 weeks ago

on

PHOENIX – Robert Kraft, the visionary who bought the flailing New England Patriots in the 1990s and turned them into an NFL dynasty, was imagining the NFL’s future when he spoke with reporters on Monday.

Kraft, who definitely gets it, would like to see a future NFL that plays 18 regular-season games, plays only two preseason games, includes two bye weeks and, oh yeah, has every single team playing one of its games internationally.

So there it is … the NFL’s dream scenario for the 2030s.

“I like it long term for the growth and development of the league because, to keep our league healthy and grow revenue, I think preseason games have not been what it used to be when we owned the team,” Kraft told New England area reporters during a break in the NFL annual meeting. “And changing to 18 games and having that real content and being mindful of player safety, I’d personally like to see us have a second bye week.

“But then, it would allow us to also grow the game internationally. Every team in the league would play a game overseas … I think it would be a lot more exciting for the fans to have an extra game rather than the way our preseason games stack up.”

This is not a daydream. It’s a league that craves growth and money building a penthouse over its already lofty perch atop American sports.

And we know this because commissioner Roger Goodell has leaked a somewhat similar vision of Kraft’s outline in drubs and drabs the last couple of years — usually before offering a requisite amount of temperance to lower expectations.

“We’re not there yet,” Goodell said before Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara. “There’s more work to be done.”

NFL owners are apparently doing some of that work at the current meetings. And so the topic is leaking out into the media.

Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon wants an 18-game regular season and made that point clear in speaking with local Indianapolis area reporters as well as during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

She has complained in the past that 17 games doesn’t give teams financial certainty from year to year, because some years teams play eight home games and some years they play nine and some years one of those home games goes overseas to an international venue.

“I think, as long as the players want it – which I think they would, because it would mean more revenue and, ultimately, a better product – I think it’s reasonable and something we would work toward,” Irsay-Gordon told the Indianapolis Star.

Adding an 18th game would have to be collectively bargained with the NFL Players’ Association. And the NFLPA has over the last several years been vehemently opposed to the addition of an 18th game.

But the same NFLPA has never been vehemently opposed to more money and benefits for players. And it’s never uttered any complaint when the idea of expanded rosters, meaning more jobs for more players, has been floated.

So, do you smell a negotiation in the works?

Speaking hypothetically, one agent told OutKick a negotiation might start with the idea that the NFL wants one more game. And then the players would get the extra bye week, expanded rosters, a higher minimum salary, greater post-retirement benefits and more off time during the offseason.

Beyond the extra game, placing 18 of them overseas – twice as many as planned for 2026 – sounds easier than it actually is.

“We’re early in that process,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said. “We’re expanding each year, we’re learning each year. We’re going into new markets and making sure every move we make, every new market we go into has to be successful.

“Obviously, a lot has to be worked through to get to a stage that you described. I think the work we’re doing is making sure we have the foundation ready should that opportunity exist.”

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Latest

Trump greeted at UFC 327 in first sporting event appearance since start of Iran war

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 12, 2026

By

President Donald Trump was greeted by a packed crowd at UFC 327 in Miami Saturday night during the president’s first appearance at a sporting event since the start of the Iran war. Fans in attendance erupted into raucous applause as Trump walked into the venue. 

Trump made his way out with UFC CEO and president Dana White and went around to the announcers and had an exchange with Joe Rogan, who was sitting at the announcers’ table. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was standing nearby the seats right before Trump walked out, then leaned in to Trump and started whispering very closely to the president, cupping his hands over his mouth and they each exchanged a few words. Trump then turned around, pumping his fist to those sitting behind him, smiling and waving, then pointed a few times to the crowd. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Trump has been a frequent fixture at UFC and other combat sports events during his presidency, during his 2024 campaign and even dating back to his first term.

In 2025, Trump attended UFC 316 and Miami fight night. In 2024, he attended UFC 302 in June and UFC 309 in November.

In 2019, he attended UFC 244.

Before Saturday, the last major sporting event Trump attended was the College Football Playoff national championship game between Indiana and Miami at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19.

IRAN POSTPONES TEHRAN FAREWELL CEREMONY FOR KHAMENEI WHERE LARGE CROWDS WERE EXPECTED TO GATHER

Trump was notably absent from this year’s Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Italy and didn’t attend any other events after the Iran war broke out.

But after Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement, Trump has returned to sport. Trump addressed the ongoing situation with Iran at the White House before departing for Joint Base Andrews to travel to Miami for the UFC event.

“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Trump told reporters. “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. And the reason is because we’ve won, whether you listen to the fake news or not.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Continue Reading

Latest

Heather Graham says classmates dismissed her as ‘nerdy’ before Hollywood breakthrough proved them wrong

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 12, 2026

By

Before Hollywood came calling, Heather Graham said, she was dismissed as a “nerdy” teenager.

The actress recalled being underestimated in high school before landing the popular cheerleader role in “License to Drive,” a turning point she described as a “huge moment” that launched her independence and her career.

“I was nerdy. … You know, I was smart, and I was just, like, nobody thought I was that pretty,” Graham recalled during an episode of “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson.” 

HEATHER GRAHAM SLAMS ‘AWKWARD’ NEW REALITY OF HOLLYWOOD SEX SCENES

“So, I got this job as, like, the popular, pretty cheerleader, and I had very bad style and bad hair and makeup. Like, I did not know how to, like, do that. And then people were like, ‘Oh?’

“[The movie] came out right as I was graduating,” Graham added. “And I think people were like, ‘Well, maybe we should have paid attention to her.'”

Graham revealed landing the iconic role as Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive” was a “huge moment” for her at 17.

“It was huge for me. Like, that was a huge moment,” she explained. “I got to make money. I was independent. I had a bank account, you know, and I could live on my own.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Graham began her career with small roles in commercials and TV before landing teen films such as “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Swingers.”

She got her breakthrough with “Boogie Nights,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Bowfinger.”

Graham landed a role in the blockbuster film “The Hangover” in 2009. She has since continued acting in films and TV while also expanding into writing and directing projects.

Her latest film, “They Will Kill You,” hit theaters March 27.

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

The 56-year-old actress shared some of her beauty secrets in a recent interview with Us Weekly.

Graham claimed she’s “never had an actual operation where they’re cutting my face open.” But she said she has tried a series of other methods, including “microneedling, Botox … and a bunch of lasery things.”

“Some of those laser treatments are torture,” she said. “Like, an hour and a half of your face getting blasted.”

The movie star’s goal is to stay away from invasive plastic surgery because she doesn’t “want to look freaky,” and her “goal is to look natural.”

“I feel like some people get facelifts and they just kind of end up looking like … I mean, there are people that get it, and it’s good. But I just don’t want to be one of those people that got it and look freaky,” she said. “But I don’t know if [when] I got older, I wouldn’t completely rule out. Who knows, in the future.”

Graham also tries to maintain a balanced diet and get 10 to 11 hours of sleep. She said she uses yoga as a way to stay in shape and manage stress, calling it “so cathartic.”

Continue Reading

Latest

Seven-foot statue unveiled honoring Magawa, award-winning rat who found more than 100 landmines in Cambodia

Published

2 hours ago

on

April 12, 2026

By

A landmine-sniffing rat who won a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia has been honored with a massive stone statue.

Magawa, a rat who gained fame in the country for sniffing out more than 100 mines (more than 1.5 million square feet) in his five-year career — more than any other rat in the country — retired in 2021 and died at age 8 in 2022.

The African giant pouched rat was trained by the Belgian charity APOPO to use his keen sense of smell to sniff out landmines and other explosives.

In Cambodia, more than 1 million people live and work in areas dotted with landmines, according to BBC News.

‘HERO DOG’ HONORED FOR COMFORTING COVENANT SCHOOL STUDENTS

In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Dickin medal for gallantry, which recognizes heroism in animals.

He was the first rat in the organization’s history going back to 1943 to win the award.

Magawa was able to walk over areas with land mines safely because of his light weight and would alert his handlers to a mine by scratching the surface, according to Smithsonian magazine. He would then receive a treat.

“During his career, Magawa found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization said in 2022, while announcing his death. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work and play without fear of losing life or limb.”

Cambodia has the highest rate of landmine amputees per capita of any country.

BELOVED PET MAKES DARING ESCAPE FROM ANIMAL HOSPITAL AFTER SURGERY AND TRAVELS 3 MILES TO GET HOME

APOPO added, “Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death for the people of Cambodia.”

The statue was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, just in time for International Day for Mine Awareness April 4.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2026 Political Signal