Report: Bears voted against 17-game season

Chicago Bears chairman George Halas McCaskey voted against expanding the regular season to 17 games when NFL owners cast their ballots Tuesday, sources told Seth Wickersham of ESPN.

It's unclear whether any other voters opposed the one-game extension, but it's believed the owners approved the proposal in a landslide.

NFL owners have long coveted an additional game as a way of generating more revenue. The players' union finally agreed to permit a longer season in exchange for a greater share of revenues and other benefits during collective bargaining agreement negotiations in 2020.

Commissioner Roger Goodell lauded the new 17-game format after the vote passed, calling it a "monumental moment in NFL history." The league will implement the 17-game schedule in time for the 2021 season.

McCaskey took over as Bears chairman in 2011, replacing his brother, Michael. His 98-year-old mother, Virginia Halas McCaskey, is the Bears' principal owner.

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