NFL May Expand Playoffs to 16 Teams : Pro football: Instant replay, Ram move also will be considered in league meetings next week.

In another attempt to take from the rich and give to the poor, the league that introduced revenue sharing is now considering championship sharing.

The NFL owners will consider a proposal next week to expand the playoffs from 12 to 16 teams, eliminating a first-round bye for each conference’s two best teams. This proposal will be among the rule changes considered at the NFL’s annual meetings in Phoenix, where owners are also expected to debate fiercely before approving the Rams’ move to St. Louis.

On the rules agenda will also be another look at instant replay, additional protection for the quarterback and perhaps the banning of bandannas worn under helmets.

Owner Lamar Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs revealed the playoff proposal Tuesday, saying he was convinced that change was needed when his team beat the Raiders on the final Sunday of last season.

“We both finished 9-7, yet we went to the playoffs and they didn’t,” Hunt said. “And you can’t tell me that we were all that much better than them.”

Hunt, who said the changes make sense when considering that the league is expanding by two teams to 30, is also disturbed by first-round byes.

“It not only gives those teams an advantage beyond the big home-field advantage, it keeps our best teams off the air for the first weekend of the playoffs,” he said.

Only once since the wild-card system began in 1978 has a team that played on the first week of the playoffs eventually won the Super Bowl. That was the then-Oakland Raiders after the 1980 season.

If instant replay returns after a three-year absence, it will probably be only for the playoffs.

“It would be very unfortunate if 60,000 people watched a playoff game that was decided by a grave mistake,” said David Behring, president of the Seattle Seahawks. “There were too many bad calls this year, and we need to do something about it.”