Forgive me if I’ve written this article before, but it’s hard not to plagiarize yourself when the same NFL topic comes up every January and nothing changes.

I’m talking about the NFL’s format for seeding its playoff teams and the outrage that follows when a juggernaut has to open on the road on Wild Card Weekend. Actually, it used to be Wild Card Weekend, but now it’s called Super Wild Card Weekend thanks to an expanded field that began in 2021 and includes a seventh seed in each conference along with a playoff game on Monday Night Football.

The name of the first round of the NFL postseason may have changed and the format may have expanded, but that only increased the likelihood of rage.

Why?

The 14-3 Minnesota Vikings (btw, the NFL also expanded its regular season by one game in 2021) will become the first 14-win squad in NFL history to open the postseason as a road wildcard team.

Minnesota lost its regular-season finale to the Lions at Ford Field on Sunday Night Football. Everything was on the line in that game, and I do mean everything. Both teams entered the evening with 14-2 records and were gunning for the NFC North title, the number-one seed and the only bye.

Win and earn a much easier path to the Super Bowl–including two games at home (should you keep winning, of course). Lose and not only be forced to play three games, but they’ll most likely all be away from home.

Why does this scenario present itself in most NFL postseasons? Because the league has had a system in place since 1990 that guarantees division champions a home game for their first playoff matchup. So if you have a season when a division includes a bunch of mediocrity while another includes several good teams, the non-division-winning playoff entrant with a superior record is forced to open the postseason on the road against a division champion with an inferior record.

When this situation does occur, it usually only includes one mediocre division winner hosting a superior non-division winner on Wild (or Super) Wild Card Weekend. But there are several this season–including in the AFC where the 11-6 Los Angeles Chargers must go on the road and play the Houston Texans, who finished with an inferior 10-7 record but won the AFC South Division.

That’s actually not that bad.

Over in the NFC, the 12-5 Washington Commanders will open on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished with an inferior 10-7 record but won the NFC South Division.

I don’t think most fans and experts consider Washington a serious Super Bowl threat. Therefore, nobody would even notice this in a season that didn’t include the 14-3 Vikings traveling to Los Angeles to battle a 10-7 Rams team that won the NFC West Division. But since this season does include that reality, we now have outrage and questions about fixing this injustice.

It’s a simple fix, one that’s been pretty obvious for quite some time.

What’s the solution? The NFL should seed its postseason field based solely on record. Under that scenario, the Vikings would either be the second or third seed in these playoffs depending on who won the tiebreaker between them and Philadelphia. Either way, Minnesota would be at home on Super Wild Card Weekend. The Rams would be the lowest seed, while the 11-6 Packers, currently the seventh seed in the NFC, would be the fifth seed–or one spot behind the fourth-seeded Commanders.

You might object to that change. I mean, if you’re going to do that, why even have divisions? For scheduling and rivalries, of course. Oh yeah, and because earning a trip to the postseason seems like a pretty big reward for winning your division.

Yes, winning a division should guarantee a franchise a trip to the playoffs. As for seeding once you get there…

Put it this way, a team that wins a mid-major conference earns an automatic bid to college basketball’s annual NCAA Tournament, but how often does it get a superior seed in the first round? If your answer is “Hardly ever,” you are correct.

Again, it’s such a simple solution and one that the NBA adopted in 2016. The Dallas Mavericks may have advanced to the NBA Finals last year, but despite capturing the Southwest Division, they entered the postseason as the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

So if it’s such an obvious fix, why won’t the NFL solve this problem? People like Mike Florio have recently claimed that NFL owners want the current system to remain the same because they desire a one-in-four chance of hosting a playoff game every year provided their team wins the division.

There you have it.

It comes down to money.

What’s more important to owners? Giving the top regular-season teams the best chance to win it all or giving yourself a better payday on Super Wild Card Weekend? Apparently, it’s the latter.

What can you do? If you’re a Vikings fan, you have the option of traveling to Los Angeles this weekend to enjoy a playoff game in a warm domed stadium.

That’s what I would do if I were you because it doesn’t look like NFL owners are as bothered by this postseason injustice as the fans are.