Jerry Jones Hints NFL Could Add Geographic Rivalry Games — SkimNews
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- Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan that the NFL has considered adding annual geographic rivalry games but has refrained because the current rotation system ensures fair competition, and he'd look beyond just Dallas-Houston if the league made a change
- The NFL's scheduling formula has been in place since the 2002 expansion to 32 teams and was last tweaked in 2021 to add a 17th interconference game based on prior-year standings
- Jones cited the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Thursday night matchup as the model: 'My town against your town, my school against your school. That's a big part of it,' he said, calling it hard to replicate outside the United States
- Not every team has a natural geographic rival — only Cowboys-Texans, Jets-Giants, and Chargers-Rams work as cross-conference matchups, making a universal annual rivalry game impractical under the current structure
- When the schedule expands to 18 games, likely between 2028 and 2031, the more probable addition is another annual international interconference game — 6 of the 9 international games this season are already AFC vs. NFC matchups, including Sunday's Colts-Commanders game in London
Why it matters: The 17th-game interconference slot added in 2021 was the last scheduling change, and the next one likely comes when the league adds an 18th game. If the NFL prioritizes a geographic rivalry over a third interconference matchup, isolated-market teams without natural cross-conference rivals lose a built-in home game while marquee intra-region matchups like Cowboys-Texans get protected annually — but the data points the other way, with international games already dominating the AFC-NFC landscape.
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