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Peyton Manning suggests significant rule changes to NFL officiating, stat tracking

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Brian Jones | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 11:34 PM ET

Peyton Manning is ready to make some rule changes for the NFL after seeing what the NBA did recently. On the ManningCast , Peyton Manning revealed his five rule changes he would like the see the NFL make in the near future.

The first rule Manning suggested was that “Intercepted Hail Mary’s shouldn’t count against quarterbacks” at the end of the half. The second rule is “False start/Offsides equity within the 10-yard line,” and the third is “Targets should not be an official statistic,” for receivers. Manning then suggested that “Batted balls should be illegal,” because he believes fans don’t come to games to see a batted pass. The last rule Manning has for the NFL is “Cash payments on the field for late hits,” meaning if a defensive player makes a late hit on a quarterback, they have to get the cash money and give it to the QB right away.

I love Peyton Manning’s rule suggestions.

Also, Eli can’t be perpetually confused, and on TV. pic.twitter.com/OiclDmui0A
— David Cone (@davidadamcone) September 23, 2025

Peyton Manning shares more on his Hail Mary rule for the NFL

Manning is obviously joking about the rules, but it comes after the NBA announced that if a player attempts a long end-of-quarter shot and misses it, the miss would count against the team and not the player. The NBA did this because players have stopped attempting the shot since it would count against their field goal percentage.

If there’s one rule change that could happen, it’s the Hail Mary since one could argue the attempt is virtually a punt. “Hail Mary throws at the end of the first half should be a team interception. They shouldn’t be a quarterback interception,” Manning said. “It won’t count against the quarterback.”

Peyton Manning’s rule changes for the NFL come after he attempted his own Hail Mary. Earlier this month, the two-time Super Bowl champion revealed he tried to get Pope Leo XIV on the ManningCast.

“Yeah, kind of like I failed to recruit Randy Moss to Tennessee, I couldn’t close the pope,” Manning said on the Week 1 ManningCast. “I wrote His Holiness himself, and I wrote his executive assistant. Handwritten. I made the effort. “If you’re watching, Your Holiness, this is an open invitation. Come on the show anytime.”

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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