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NFL considering major change to overtime rules

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Feb 26, 2025 5:52 PM ET

NFL overtime might look different in 2025 based on comments made by top league officials on Wednesday.

NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said the league’s competition committee plans to look at changing regular-season overtime rules to match those used during the playoffs. The league has taken note of an increase in victories for teams that win the overtime coin toss, which might lead to a change.

NFL is moving closer to making overtime rules the same in regular season as the playoffs. League executive Troy Vincent said “it’s time to rethink the overtime rule” and the Competition Committee agrees it needs to be addressed. Receiving the ball in OT has become more of an…
— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 26, 2025

The NFL will review overtime rules, noting there’s been an uptick in number of victories for teams that receive the opening kick in OT. (Dynamic kickoff could be a factor here.) Possible the postseason OT rules (guaranteed possession for both teams) could be apply to reg season.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 26, 2025

Under current regular-season rules, there remains no guarantee that both teams get the ball in overtime. A team can win the coin toss, score a touchdown on its first drive and win the game.

By contrast, playoff overtime guarantees that both teams will get at least one possession. If the game remains tied after each team has possessed the ball, the next score wins. Those rules have not been used extensively, but they did come into play in Super Bowl LVIII, when one team seemingly did not know what they were.

Obviously, there is no guarantee a rule change is coming for the 2025 season. The fact that it is being talked about, however, suggests the league still is not completely happy with its overtime format. Teams that do not win the overtime coin toss would certainly benefit from this, and that may be best for the sport.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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