Will NFL replace onside kicks with fourth-down plays for 2026 season?

For years, NFL writers and fans have suggested that the league should and could eventually replace onside kicks with fourth-down offensive plays in an attempt to give the would-be kicking team a better chance of retaining possession of the football. 

According to Mark Maske of The Washington Post, NFL competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay revealed on Sunday that the committee did not discuss an alternative for onside kicks at the scouting combine this past weekend. 

Are NFL team owners open to replacing onside kicks with offensive plays?

"It didn’t get talked about yet," McKay explained, according to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "We’ll see. I do think that the onside kick recovery issue . . . is a real one that you’ve seen the statistics. You’ve seen where the numbers went. And at some point, it would be nice to see those move back to a more historical place. That’s just one person’s view. And you know what one person’s view doesn’t get you? Twenty-four votes."

McKay was referencing the fact that a minimum of 24 votes from NFL owners is required for the league to change a rule, such as how a kicking team could keep possession of the ball. Different competitions have offered alternatives to onside kicks, but there's no sign the NFL will embrace such an idea this winter or spring. 

As Nick Shook shared for the NFL's website, the defunct Alliance of American Football used 4th-and-12 attempts from the possessing team's own 28-yard line inside the final five minutes of regulation of games instead of onside kicks. Per Dan Treacy of Sporting News, the rebooted version of the XFL allowed teams to choose either a traditional onside kick or a 4th-and-15 offensive play to regain possession of the ball after a scoring drive.

Why NFL may eventually need to change how onside kicks exist

Earlier in February, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned that the onside kick success rate is less than 8 percent under the "dynamic kickoff" rules that require a team to declare it will be attempting an onside kick before the ball is booted. According to PFT, 4th-and-13, 4th-and-15 and 4th-and-20 plays could be considered as alternatives for onside kicks, but it remains to be seen if owners will seriously discuss approving such a rule change before the 2026 season gets underway.