Playoff expansion: 10 big questions

— -- Change arrives for the NFL in predictable ways. Ideas percolate among the close advisers of commissioner Roger Goodell, a group made up of smart business executives whose guidance has built the league into a $10 billion industry. A framework is built, on-field personnel are consulted, details are discussed. Once a working plan is in place, Goodell begins floating the general idea publicly -- a sign to the initiated that its implementation is inevitable.

So it goes for the idea of playoff expansion, which Goodell first began discussing last fall and which could be approved as early as this week's spring meeting in Atlanta. Some logistical hurdles remain, including an adjustment of television contracts and collective bargaining with the NFL Players Association, but there is near-universal agreement that the league will expand its playoff field from 12 to 14 by no later than the 2015 season.