FEBRUARY 23: Competition committee chairman Rich McKay confirmed on Sunday (via Mark Maske of the Washington Post) consideration has been given to moving back the kickoff point five yards to produce further increases in returns. The committee will also look into tweaking where teams take over after a touchback by moving the ball from the 30 up to the 35.
McKay added (via Maske) the committee could contemplate the fourth-and-15 or fourth-and-20 alternative to the onside kick which has been floated in recent years and which the UFL uses. Tweaks to the onside kick which would keep it in play – while making returns more viable – will also be discussed.
FEBRUARY 19: There will be a pair of notable votes during this year’s owners meetings. As Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes, the league is considering expanding replay assist and formalizing the “dynamic” kickoff. 
The NFL expanded their replay assist process last offseason. Previously, replay officials only had the authority to weigh in on “administrative matters or during formal reviews” (per Anthony DiBona of ProFootballNetwork.com). The league took it a step forward in 2024, allowing these replay officials to assist their on-field counterparts with real-time corrections (assuming there’s “clear and indisputable video evidence”).
In addition to standard corrections like ball placement, the NFL also allowed these replay officials to correct on-field officials on penalties like roughing the passer, late hits out of bounds, and intentional grounding. Volin expects the league to take it a step further for 2025, with the writer believing replay assist will also include “calls such as facemasks and QB slides.”
The league’s new dynamic kickoff rule was only approved for the 2024 season, but there’s an expectation that it will be officially entered into the rule book for the 2025 campaign. As Volin notes, the NFL’s 33-percent return rate was an improvement on previous years but still not high enough. The league could make some adjustments to increase that number, like pushing back the kickoff line from the 35 yard line to the 30 yard line.
The league’s competition committee will meet at the Combine at the end of this month to discuss these potential rule changes (among others). The vote will then be brought to the owners, who are gathering for their annual meetings in March.
Change the kick off to a free kick. Most free kicks do not go 70 yards. Plus you add the “excitement” if you want to call it that of a shanked kick.
Facemasks need to be called properly. They’re relatively common, but too frequently called poorly. Some false positives, but many false negatives. The ability to allow a facemask to easily be overturned can allow officials to more liberally call facemasks, which is a big help for player safety and the correct calling of penalties in general.
End the whole thing where the evidence has to be enough to overturn the call on the field and just get the call correct. A bad call on the field shouldn’t be given a benefit. The spot in the Bills Chiefs game is a good example. If that call was made correct on the field it wouldn’t have been overturned and the Bills get the first down. But the ref moves the original placement and calls it short and now the replay has to be enough to overturn a bad spot. Funny thing was the evidence was still enough to overturn it but a second bad call was made.
dougdeb The refs made the right call on that play.Chiefs stopped him!
No they didn’t. Bills literally got two first downs that sequence and were awarded with neither.
Facemask & hands to the face(like the roughing they called on Texans on Mahomes). I don’t think people mind a game being a little longer if correct calls being made, most of the games seem to fly by when you have multiple on.
Every penalty should be reviewed. Most are clear cut enough where it’s a simple call down seconds after the play and won’t impact anything. And have an official watching on a monitor review plays that are not called penalties on the field have the ability to review a play. I’m sick of seeing the officials dictating games, not the players on the field. Also fix your ball placement with actual technology. It’s 2025.
I think I’d go a step further, anything that looks iffy (catch, fumble, etc) should be reviewed. There’s at least one screw up per game that doesn’t get overturned and in many cases, that’s the difference in the game.
Jdgoat has gotta get his “3 Things” in. This ain’t talk radio!
It’s a commentary site, and he’s entitled to his opinion, Chucky, just as you are. I don’t see the issue.
If they’re gonna have it, it might as well be done correctly…….
In other words, manipulate game flow more than they already do. Got it.
I’d also boot all the middle age fat cat officials. Hire younger people, full time. There are plenty of former players who couldn’t cut it in the NFL who are more athletic than these slobs. Half of them are 30 yards away from the play and can’t see, fire them all.
The full time thing is a must. For the life of me I cannot understand why, in a league whose salary cap has more than doubled in the last ten years, there somehow isn’t enough money to pay full time officials.
Years ago, the NFL would list the officials in the back of the game day program. The officials were judges, CEOs, etc and I bet most still are. Fire the rich fat cats, give me a 225 lb linebacker who couldn’t cut it as a player. Put the officials in player’s gear. It’s a contact sport, the officials are too far away from the play because they are worried about getting run over as they can’t move.
Being a good official is about experience and having good judgment–not being a washed up player who’d like to hit someone.
Hmmm, funny how the NHL has officials that are former players and I don’t see any of them exhibiting a desire to hit people. I guarantee it an official in their 20s or 30s can move a helluva lot faster than a senior and that’s coming from a senior.
They started converting majority of the refs to full time I believe a few years ago, and then abandoned the program because it was redundant. I don’t know what people expect them to do with extra time on payroll. They know the rules, watching film is pointless. You can’t rep this stuff, they’re watching 22 freaks of nature do unique stuff every week making split second decisions. Every week we see some weird and unique stuff happen. Half the time people can’t agree what should have been called after seeing 100 replays. Idk how people expect them to be perfect live.
If you reviewed a play every time a game official made a questionable call the games would run at least an hour longer. I remember that Thanksgiving game several years ago when the referee botched the coin toss…lol.
Sadly, the game already sucks. It’s not a game anymore, it’s strictly entertainment. By far, it is the worst officiated game in sport.
Well, I’d raise you the NBA….
Yeah, I would hate the longer times and breaks in action, but right now I think that I’d rather them get it right. We should probably have greater thresholds for what’s allowed before penalties are called (some of those touchy-feely pass interferences come to mind), but if it is called, they need to get it right.
Since coaches’ challenges are already limited, they should be able to challenge anything, and the league should be allowed to review it. It’s annoying to wait on flag after flag, but that’s a problem with the number of and definition of the rules more so than it is about the replay system. If it’s going to be done, it should be done right.
The NBA is bad for officiating, but you don’t see nearly the blown games because of such calls that you do in the NFL. The NFL is all about scoring, they don’t care about the d at all. I started watching the NFL around 1976 and it’s getting worse for calls. For pass interference, it used to be you could hit the receiver as long as the ball wasn’t in the air. Now, you can’t do a damn thing.
Pass interference in the NFL has been a joke for years
Don’t watch it then.
I don’t think you need to watch to provide an opinion on this site. However, I generally don’t watch, parts of 3-4 Super Bowls over 30 years and I haven’t seen a game in person since 1983 or 1984.
If the nfl can affirm or negate turn overs and touchdowns in seconds why would it take at least an hour long to review 15 yard penalties like roughing the passer, unecesssry roughness, pass interference, etc or game changing penalties like illegal contact that negates a 3rd and forever?
Nobody wants all calls reviewed. Both teams get away with ticky tacky calls all game.
What they want is crucial penalties to be challengeable or reviewable. If refs is gonna throw a flag for roughing the passer it better be roughing the passer not Mahomes turning into a runner giving himself up and two defenders hitting helmets. And if refs can’t make that all correctly it should be challengable or affirmed overturned by nfl employees watching the replays immediately.
I wonder where they could be getting all these new ideas
…couldn’t possibly be the UFL
The new kickoff format is a joke. They need to go back to the traditional format.
The onside declaration to me is just bonkers. It’s essentially been taken out of the game. Why not at least try it without to see if it really does make it too easy to recover, or if some adjustment can be made to at least make the play possible? In its current state, it is not.
Yeah, let’s take the element of surprise out of the onside kick. Just another move with Goodell’s Bong and Gong Show.
Why not move the spot of the ball 10 yards back if there’s too many touchbacks as kickers have stronger legs?
The real XFL Kickoff rule was no touch backs allowed (or 60 yard… yes 60 yard penalty)
This was in large part just to force more returns for examination in limited XFL games, but none the less, the Doomsday touchback is still an option
All that aside, the current UFL kicks off from their own 20 which is something NFL is going to have a keen eye on this April
Sounds like the other leagues have their crap together better than the NFL on such rules, but that doesn’t surprise me.
While not directly connected, UFL works with NFL on rule changes
The 4th and 15 replacing the onside kick will be the main thing they look into this season
People don’t realize that almost every NFL innovation has come from XFL, USFL, and UFL
There’s just no risk for these other leagues to try stuff. Worst case it’s unique and gets people talking about the league. Best case it’s innovative and changes the game like skycam. NFL is the only American League of mlb, nhl, and nba that doesn’t have a minor league system to try their own changes so they’re in a much more difficult position.
Exactly. MLB has the luxory of MILB to sample pitch clock etc.
I do believe that UFL will eventually be a quazi-minor league NFL system.
Meaning there won’t be 32 UFL team, but certain practice squad members will be drafted across the UFL teams.
So might have a Steelers RB in San Antonio and a Steelers QB starting for Memphis etc
There’s definitely a spot for players who don’t qualify for the initial-10 practice squad spots because of tenure limits.
*NFL practice squads place 2 year tenure limits on 10 spots.
The other 6 spots are open for vets
practice squad players entering their 3rd NFL season could enter the UFL draft pool and build up their resume before a career deciding camp
Basically won’t see NFL “top prospects” health risked in UFL, but NFL could lend them players on camp deals with a lower chance of making the team.
I know it may sound like sour grapes, but the play in the Lions-Commanders game where Goff got SMASHED during the interception would have been a possible 14 point turnaround. Would’ve gone from a pick-6 to 1st down near midfield. That kind of ball turns a game.
Haven’t they done enough damage to kick-offs already.
Don’t tempt them…
Every play or foul should be reviewable
Coaches should get 3 challenges per half
Challenges shouldn’t cost teams time outs
NFL should make refs a full time job and make refs do some serious training before they’re allowed to see the field. Cause what we’ve seen last year is atrocious for the game.
Until refs can get calls right coaches and teams should be able to challenge the calls
This is ridiculous. Pretty soon teams will start the possession after the touchback kickoff at the 50 yard line. Why would anyone want to return the kickoff if they can start at the 35.
That’s what I don’t understand. And with the legs some of these kickers have, they only will need 20 yards for a fg which is completely nuts
Exactly. If they want more returns then touchbacks on kickoffs should start at the 20 like in the old days.
“…….. consideration has been given to moving back the kickoff point five yards to produce further increases in returns.”
There were plenty of returns the old way. NFL is run by Id-jits.
Until they microchip the football and give us what the coaches are saying in the helmets like in nascar or the xfl
Punts into the Endzone or out of bounds should be treated the same as kickoffs…
Please develop an AI tool that can be applied to Replay. The decision would be made within one second; not five minutes….