Roger Goodell's most recent comments will make NASCAR fans very angry

Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, is now looking at an 18th game. The increase from 16 to 17 regular-season games didn't seem to be enough. This would move the Super Bowl from the second Sunday in February (when it was on the first Sunday during the 16-game season) to Presidents' Day weekend.

Goodell remarked recently, "I think 18 weeks would get you to that point, and I think it would be a really great move."

Of course, this would mean that the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 would be on the same day, which is not good for NASCAR.

The Daytona 500 hasn't always been on Presidents' Day weekend, but that's when it usually is. That is the weekend it was linked to from 1971 to 2011, and it has been linked to that weekend since 2018. It's also the weekend that it's planned for in 2026.

Daytona 500 will have to move at some point.

Fox only shows the Super Bowl every other year, so having the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 on the same day isn't possible right now. This is because NASCAR just signed a new seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast rights contract with Fox.

The Daytona 500 starts in the afternoon, but because there will probably be cautions, overtimes, and yes, rain in Daytona Beach, Florida, it will overlap with the Super Bowl's usual 6:30 p.m. ET start time.

Since the NFL is the most popular sport in the US, it will definitely be the one to force NASCAR to change the date of the "Great American Race." If Fox has anything to say about it, the "Big Game" is certainly more important than the "Big Race."

That could have a big impact on the rest of the NASCAR schedule from February to November, since several other venues will have to change their customary dates to make up for a season that starts a week later than usual.

But what about the NFL? All it does is add another game, which none of the players want, but that's not the issue; Goodell does. For them, it's not a huge deal.

It's not the NFL's responsibility to look out for NASCAR's best interests, of course. But that doesn't change the fact that NASCAR fans don't want to hear this news. It's an early taste of the reality that NFL is pressuring NASCAR to do something.