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NFL owners approve change to kickoff touchback rule

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•04/01/25•

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DETROIT, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 20: Wilson brand footballs with the NFL logo are pictured during the game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns at Ford Field on November 20, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

The NFL owners have approved a big change to the kickoff touchback rule. Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, “Touchbacks will now come out to the 35 instead of the 30, which in theory will discourage teams from kicking so many balls out of the end zone and lead to more returns.”

Pelissero also said, “With injury rates down on the dynamic kickoff, this was the next step.” There are no changes to the onside kick, but Tom Pelissero indicated that it “could be considered later.”

According to ESPN, the onside kick rules were tabled by owners for more discussions at the meetings scheduled for May. The competition committee had proposed some alignment tweaks and suggested eliminating the requirement that onside kicks can happen only in the fourth quarter.

Competition committee chairman Rich McKay said last week that the NFL projects that its kickoff return rate will rise between 60 to 70 percent with touchbacks moved to the 35-yard line. It was one of the multiple rule changes made during the owners’ meeting this week.

The NFL has focused on kickoff rules since last year

The NFL has made big changes to its kickoff over the last year. For the 2024 season, the league implemented major changes to the kickoff, including only the kicker and returners moving while the ball is in the air and the addition of a “landing zone,” which ranges from the goal line to the 20-yard line.

In October, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said there will be tweaks to the kickoff rules, but he liked what he saw on the field. “With that increase in returns, it’s giving us more data to determine whether we can do it more safely. It actually is incredibly promising. We’re seeing lower impacts that have led to less severe injuries and less number of injuries. So I think it’s working,” Goodell said, per ESPN.

“I think what we’ll see ultimately is a change in the offseason,” Goodell added. “Once we know it’s a safer play, it will encourage more kickoffs. That could happen in a couple of ways. You could move the kickoff line back, so that they can’t kick it out as easily. You could also say the penalty for kicking it out is going to go to the 35 instead of where we’re at, the 30.”