It’s all kicking off: Explaining the NFL’s new kick-off rule changes ahead of the 2024/25 season
The NFL’s new kick-off rule looks to balance player safety whilst reinvigorating a play that many thought had stagnated in recent years.
Effective for the upcoming 2024 season and being introduced on a one-year trial basis, the NFL’s significant rule changes regarding kick-offs hope to give the play more purpose than ever before.
On March 26, league owners agreed to adopt the change that closely resembles the opening play from the former summer league XFL, recently turned UFL, on a one-year trial but with the option to extend beyond that should its implementation be deemed a success. We have seen the play utilized in the preseason but it will be much more interesting to see the strategies put in place the games take on more meaning.
The origins of this new rule are an interesting story beginning in 2020 and involve several men in a boardroom and a lot of sweetener.
Former offensive lineman for Stanford University, Sam Schwartzstein, was the XFL’s director of football operations, innovation and strategy during its inauguration and was one of the pioneers behind the then new kick-off ruling. He and former commissioner, Oliver Luck, had no time to put together a detailed PowerPoint presentation, or even a basic one for that matter. Instead, the pair outlined their proposition to executives from Turner Sports using a cup of sugar to represent the ball, Sweet & Low for the cover team and Splenda packets for the return team.
Later that same evening, Schwartzstein emailed over a more visually pleasing presentation and received a response along the lines of: “Yeah, this is a little bit better than sugar packets.”
Schwartzstein, now an analytics analyst for Amazon NFL’s ‘Prime Vision’, is quoted as saying during an interview with USA Today regarding the rule “it may look radical, but it’s not”. He added, “what makes the kickoff so cool is that it’s the 100-yard play, and we still have that in this version because teams can kick it in the field of play, returners can get it, and it’s the most exciting play in football”.
There is no doubt that this will be a big adjustment for the players. So, what exactly are the changes NFL fans can expect to see when the preseason gets underway with the Hall of Fame game taking place between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans on August 2? There are several key elements to be aware of:
- Alignment and Movement Restrictions:
- The kick-off team, excluding the kicker, will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line
- The receiving team must have at least nine players in a ‘setup zone’ between their 30 and 35-yard lines, with up to two returners positioned in a ‘landing zone’ between the 20-yard line and the goal line
- Players on both sides, except for the returners, are prohibited from moving until the ball hits the ground or is caught by one of the two players in the landing zone
- Kick-off Execution:
- The kicker will kick off from their own 35-yard line
- The ball must land in the designated landing zone (between the 20-yard line and the goal line). If the ball lands outside this zone, such as in the end zone or out of bounds, the receiving team will start their drive from their 40-yard line
- Return and Touchback Rules:
- If the ball lands in the end zone, it must be returned or downed, placing it at the 20-yard line. No fair catches are allowed on kick-offs
- Onside Kicks:
- Teams must announce onside kick attempts beforehand, and the alignment and movement rules will still apply, potentially altering the strategies used in these situations however, all onside kicks are now limited entirely to the fourth quarter of games and to only the trailing team
The overall goal of these changes is to reduce high-speed collisions, forcing players to start closer together and stay stationary until the return begins. This should lead to more kick-off returns, as seen in the XFL/UFL, where 97 percent of kick-offs were returned. That is a drastic difference to the 22 percent returned in the NFL last season.
Over the past 15 seasons the NFL has introduced other changes as part of a collective effort to minimize concussions – previously moving the kick-off from the 30 to the 35-yard line, banning plays such as double-team blocks and allowing a fair catch to be spotted from the 25-yard line. And there is evidence that states those changes did, in part at least, reduce injuries, but only due to a decreased rate of kick-offs being returned. A skewed statistic that players and fans alike are not fooled by. Less football plays will obviously result in less injuries.
The changes have been met with mixed reviews throughout the league, with one longtime special teams coach, speaking with The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, calling the changes “bull” and adding “this is what the league wanted for years. But you can either complain about it or adapt and find a way.”
In contrast, Baltimore Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, discussed his support of the rule after its official announcement. Speaking on the Ravens official website he said, “I think for Roger [Goodell] to be championing that, getting behind it and exploring every opportunity to keep the kick-off return in the game and make it exciting, that’s what I’m happy about and think is the right thing to do”.
Some experts believe that these modifications could lead to an estimated 2,000 additional plays per season. How those plays unfold however, could vary greatly and perhaps Detroit Lions head coach, Dan Campbell, summed it up best when talking with USA Today saying, “the thing that has people spooked […] is the unknown”.
The offseason is a time for hope and expectation. Introducing such a drastic change should also introduce new play ideas and schemes for specials teams players and coaches around the league, and challenges everyone to adapt to a new era of the game.
Jeff Millar, NFL executive vice president of communications said, “we’ve created the mechanisms and now we’re going to have to see how teams strategize”. Millar added, “we might need to tinker and tailor after we get some data […], then we’ll be ok. Does it help? For sure”.
Change is not always necessarily for the better however, an increased number of exciting football plays are something every fan wishes to see. Let’s keep the ‘foot’ in football.
