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Hi Phil:
There are multiple motivations from the owners perspective:
a) Keep more fans intersted longer
b) More revenue
c) More fans "satisfied" that their team made the playoffs
However, if we push this line of thinking to its logical conclusion, all teams should make the playoffs. Obviously that won't work, so the question should be, how many playoff teams balance everything.
There are two options. One is to include enoiugh teams to ensure that all teams capable of winning the Super Bowl qualify for the playoffs. I've made a convincing argument that 6 teams satisfies that criteria. That was my point. That 7th seed is not a legitimate threat to win the SB and everyone knows it.
The other option is to make the field large enough to ensure that every team percieved to having a good season gets to go as some kind of reward for a good season. If you are going to do that, the top half of the teams in the league will eventually qualify for the playoffs, because every time some 10-6 club doesn't make it, you will expand the field. Already this season you would might need half of the AFC teams to ensure that all the 10-6 clubs make it. This would severly weaken the regular season, which is one of the best things the NFL has going for it.
This is a move of pure greed, that objectively considered is bad for the league. So far the other owners have recognized this.
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