(Apologies if character limit turns this into mult. replies) The 17th game was a major coup for owners, & it was largely on the back of (1) D Smith being VERY owner friendly & (2) owners targeting interests of practice squad guys & fringe 53-man guys. Which (obv.) is a large portion of union members

By all means! I think I see exactly where you’re going with this too

So the 17th game, a deeply unpopular proposition for the players we think of as "NFL players," was passed largely by guys on the edge just trying to make a living, & more importantly avoid a lockout that would be devastating to them, & pretty withstandable to the average NFL guy on the 2-deep