NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has revealed that the possibility of expanding the playoffs is "under serious consideration" by the league.
The idea of introducing an additional two wildcard teams to the post-season has been discussed for some time now, with Goodell keen to ensure that every team begins the season with genuine hope of reaching the playoffs.
The 54-year-old admitted that there were a lot of things to take into consideration before making a final decision on the proposal, but hinted that it could work if it made the league more competitive.
"That is under serious consideration. One of the great things about the NFL other than it's unscripted is that every team starts the season with hope," Goodell told former Associated Press White House correspondent Ben Feller.
"Can you make it better? Can you make those [division] races even more competitive? That's compelling. It's something that the competition committee looked at last year and thinks there are some real benefits from a competitive standpoint. They're going to study some aspects of that because when would those games occur and one team would get a bye in each conference and you'd have six games on the weekend.
"So would you have three on Saturday, and three on Sunday? Or do you get one on Friday and two on Saturday and two on Sunday and one on Monday? I think those are the kinds of things we want to evaluate."
The current playoff system consists of 12 teams taking part in a four-round knockout tournament that culminates in the NFC Champions facing the AFC Champions in the Super Bowl.
Barney Corkhill
