NFL owners approved a rule change on Tuesday at the annual league meetings that will significantly impact how we experience football as kickoffs will look drastically different in 2024.
The league owners voted on a re-imagined kickoff play that will ensure two goals are achieved: More returns after high touchback rates essentially made the play meaningless and fewer injuries.
The rule proposal was put together by Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel and a couple more coaches, who have been looking into the matter for months now. The group took inspiration from the XFL kickoffs we saw in recent years.
The Cowboys hold a massive advantage with the approval of the rule as they have a coach who has spearheaded the massive change for the league and likely has a lot of ideas to succeed in this new era of special teams. He also happens to coach KaVontae Turpin, a scary speedster that is likely to thrive under the new rules that incentivize kickoff returns.
The new kickoff rules
There are a lot of details to look into when it comes to the new kickoff rules but here's what you absolutely need to know to catch up´:
- The ball would be kicked from the kicking team's 35-yard line.
- The non-kicker players from the kicking team would line up on the receiving team's 40-yard line, though. They can't move until the ball hits the ground in the landing zone or end zone.
- The receiving team can have up to two returners lined up in the landing zone (inside their own 20-yard line). At least nine other players can line up in the set up zone, which would be between their 35 and 35-yard line. They also can't move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or end zone. Notice how this keeps players from gaining velocity before inevitably colliding like in today's returns.
- Kicks that fall short from the landing zone result in an out of bounds-type penalty (starting at the receiving team's 40-yard line). Kicks that go for a touchback result in the ball being spotted at the receiving team's 35-yard line (unless it first hits the landing zone and then goes into the end zone. Notice how this will incentivize teams to not kick it out of the end zone.
- No fair catches allowed.
Not all is good, though
The Cowboys are also losing a key advantage because of their All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey. Not only did the former USFL sensation take the league by storm with his field goal accuracy in 2023 but he was the best kicker in touchback rate in the NFL at 90.8%, per Pro Football Reference.
The Cowboys will know ask Aubrey to aim for that landing zone instead to keep opponents from starting at the 35-yard line.
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