NFL reseeding playoffs format: Listing 5 pros and cons of new system

The NFL could make a major change in its competition format as soon as next season. The playoffs have undergone some changes in recent years, especially regarding the number of teams competing to make it to the Super Bowl and the squads getting a bye week during the wild-card round.

The owners could vote to make another change in the format, this time focused on how teams will be organized after the regular season ends.

After the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings won at least 14 games in the 2024 season but ended up with different scenarios in the postseason, many shared their doubts about the current seeding format.

Detroit proposed a change in the postseason format that will be voted on at the Spring League Meeting next week and could have major effects.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer broke down the proposal on Friday.

"Detroit’s proposal would be for the four division champions and three wild cards in each conference to make the playoffs," Breer wrote. "Those seven teams would then be seeded strictly by record, rather than assigning the top seeds to the division winners (which is how it’s been done since the merger), with the wild cards to follow. If teams have the same record, being a division champion would be the first tiebreaker—regardless of head-to-head record."

This is an intriguing scenario, but not everybody is fine with it. NFL fans showed their disagreement with the proposal, but the last word belongs to the owners. On that note, let's break down the benefits and harms of this proposal.

5 pros of the new NFL seeding system

5) Teams won't rest starters after clinching a playoff berth

Fans had a lot to say after the Kansas City Chiefs rested their starters against the Denver Broncos in the 2024 NFL season finale, which resulted in an easy win for Denver and the elimination of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The last campaign showed us why keeping things focused on getting as many wins as possible, regardless of the time of the season, should be a priority.

4) No. 7 seed would have a better chance against No. 2 seed

After the league expanded to seven playoff teams, the No. 7 seeds have struggled to get things going, posting a collective 9-1 record since 2020. Only a seventh-seeded team has been able to shine under the current format, the 2023 Green Bay Packers, who upset the Dallas Cowboys as visitors.

The race for that final NFL playoff spot could elevate the competitiveness, as the Broncos-Bengals-Dolphins situation taught us last season. This could open new opportunities for more teams and reward the ones that get hot at the right time.

3) Best teams can meet later in the playoffs

Personally, this has been a bummer for a while now. Seeing teams with a lot of victories being put in a more complex situation because they didn't win their division doesn't feel right.

Sometimes, fans get to see a matchup in the first or second round that would have done bigger numbers later in the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings were the prime example last season.

2) Teams with better records get rewarded with a higher seeding

Continuing with the prior point, a team that was consistent all season long and has serious chances to go all the way to the Super Bowl should have a fair chance to advance to the game.

This is not a plea to make things easier for the highest-winning teams, but having the best squads clashing with each other later in the playoffs brings more attention.

1) More competitiveness in regular-season games

All these points would lead to this. With teams knowing that more wins give them more benefits, they wouldn't hesitate to hit the gas every week to secure a higher seed in the postseason.

More competitiveness would help the league as a whole and keep fans engaged until the very end of the regular season.

5 cons of the new NFL seeding system

5) Division games would matter less

Division games and rivalries are a big part of the product the NFL presents right now. Seeing two teams clash for a third time in the playoffs has always been attractive, especially if they starred in close matchups during the regular season.

This change would de-emphasize winning the division for the stronger teams, while putting the weaker teams in a more complex situation.

4) Avoidable injuries for teams already in the postseason

While seeing our favorite stars not missing games, playing one or two extra games could affect the health of those players. Injuries that could be prevented could take place during those late-season games that not many teams might take seriously. This might be a major risk that NFL owners don't see.

3) Certain division champions would lose home-field advantage

Continuing with point No. 5, some teams, despite having won their divisions, could start the playoffs on the road. Last year, it felt unfair that the 12-5 Washington Commanders and 14-3 Minnesota Vikings started their playoff run away from home, but it would also feel unfair that a team that won its division rivals to advance to the postseason doesn't enjoy this benefit.

2) Schedule difficulty would be more irrelevant

While some teams would go off on a harder schedule and come out victorious after playing difficult opponents, the new format wouldn't pay much attention to that.

In January, ESPN's Bill Barnwell noted that the Baltimore Ravens finished the 2012 season as the AFC's fourth-seeded team with a 10-6 record while playing the second-toughest schedule in the conference. The Indianapolis Colts would have beaten them with an 11-5 record against the NFL's easiest schedule. That scenario would have felt unfair, too.

1) Winning a division wouldn't matter anymore

It all leads to this point. This new format would make NFL divisions irrelevant. Detaching division wins from playoff seeding will make them meaningless for a lot of teams. Besides, the rivalries and tiebreakers that the current format has make it a lot more entertaining.

Division titles were something to brag about, too, and the races we saw in recent years, such as the Commanders and Eagles in the NFC East and the Ravens and Steelers in the AFC North last year, were big examples.