Roger Goodell reportedly lobbied handful of teams to get NFL kickoff rule change through

The NFL ownership’s vote to move the fair catch and touchback line to the 25-yard line has received a lot of pushback for a measure that passed with 26 of 32 votes. Unsurprisingly, it was Commissioner Roger Goodell himself that had to whip several owners to the ‘yes’ side prior to the vote this week.

According to NFL reporter Albert Breer, as of Monday there were at least a dozen teams ready to vote no. The no votes needed just nine members to kill the proposal and keep the line at the 20-yard mark. However, Goodell ended up getting an extra six votes to his side before the deadline.

Eventually, the rule change went through with 26 ‘yes’ votes, five ‘no’ votes and one abstention. The Ravens, Patriots, Bengals, Bears and Lions provided the ‘no’ votes, while the Raiders owner abstained.

Moving the ball to the 25 means the NFL will have the same starting spot as college football.

Although the NFL is making the change in order to make the game safer, most special teams coaches around the league are heavily opposed to the rule change.

Although successful kick return plays happen to be some of the most exciting in the sport, there’s no doubt they provide a significant opportunity for severe injury.

NFL executive Jeff Miller reportedly said that there are more concussions on kickoffs and punts than on other plays. The return rate is expected to drop from 38 percent to 31 percent and the concussion rate should drop 15 percent, according to Tom Pelissero.

“The kickoff play has the highest rate of concussion year after year. You can’t stand by and do nothing,” Miller reportedly said.

Andy Reid on kickoff change: ‘You’ll be playing flag football’

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid told reporters he’s not quite sure how to feel about the rule change.

“I don’t know,” Reid told reporters, via ArrowheadPride.com. “We’ll have to go through all that. My thing is, ‘Where does it stop?’ Right?

“So you start taking pieces [away] — and we’ll see how this goes — but you don’t want to take too many pieces away. You’ll be playing flag football.”

The Super Bowl-winning coach’s slippery slope argument has some merit. However, the NCAA implemented the 25-yard line touchback rule in 2018. Despite receiving similar criticism at the time, the college game has not, in fact, turned into flag football. Big college football games still dominate with their viewership numbers, despite the increased measures for player safety.