Explaining NFL's new kickoff rules for 2024 season

Explaining NFL’s new kickoff rules for 2024 season

Posted by author August 14, 2024 NFL

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The NFL is taking a page out of the United Football League’s (UFL) book this year.

Ahead of the 2024 season, the NFL decided to completely overhaul its rules for kickoffs and change to a format more like that of the spring football league’s. This season (and likely beyond), the one special teams play guaranteed to happen at least twice per game is going to look very different from how it used to.

Fans who have watched any preseason NFL action likely have already noticed how different kickoffs look: The kicker stands alone at his own 35-yard line. The rest of the coverage team, and most of the return team, line up five yards apart from each other. There’s something called a “landing zone.”

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According to the NFL, these new rules were partly “to address the lowest kickoff return rate in NFL history during the 2023 season” and partly to cut down on the injuries that were rampant on kickoff returns prior to last season.

Here’s what the new kickoff rules look like and what they mean:

NFL’s new kickoff rules, explained

Many aspects of the kickoff are changing in the new rules imposed for the 2024 season, but there are still some things that will remain the same from previous years. These are how the rules are laid out according to NFL’s Football Operations:

What isn’t changing:

On kickoffs, the ball will be kicked from the 35-yard line facing the longer side of the field
On safety kicks, the ball will be kicked from the 20-yard line facing the longer side of the field

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What’s new this year:

Vocabulary to know:

The landing zone: the area between the receiving team’s end zone and 20-yard line.
Setup zone: the area between the receiving team’s 30- and 35-yard lines.
Restraining line: the receiving team’s 35-yard line

Pre-kick

The kicker stands by himself at the kicking team’s 35-yard line
- He can’t cross the 50-yard line until the ball hits the ground or a player (returner) in the landing zone or end zone
Every kicking team player other than the kicker lines up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line
- Those 10 players can’t move until the ball hits the ground or a player (returner) in the landing zone or end zone
At least seven players on the receiving team must line up on the restraining line (their own 35-yard line)
- Players not on the restraining line must still be within setup zone and aligned outside the hash marks
- Players in the setup zone can’t move until the ball hits the ground or a player (returner) in the landing zone or end zone

Kick outcomes:

Kick lands in landing zone: must be returned
Kick lands short of landing zone: treated like delay of game penalty on kickoffs — ball spotted on receiving team’s 40-yard line
Kick lands in landing zone, bounces into end zone: must be returned or downed. If it’s downed, ball is spotted at receiving team’s 20-yard line
Kick hits in end zone, stays inbounds: can be returned or downed. If downed, ball is spotted at receiving team’s 30-yard line
Kick hits in end zone, goes out of the back: ball is spotted at receiving team’s 30-yard line

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Onside kicks

Can only happen in fourth quarter
Trailing team must declare onside kick attempt to officials
If kick goes past setup zone untouched, kicking team is assessed 15-yard unsportmanlike conduct penalty, and receiving team gets the ball at the kicking team’s 20-yard line.
Anything else: previous years’ onside kick rules apply

Other things:

If the ball falls off the tee twice due to adverse weather conditions, the kicker may use a kicking stick.
Only the spot of kick changes on penalties assessed on kickoffs. Setup zone and landing zone remain the same.
Penalties on scoring plays will be assessed on the point-after try.
Penalties on the try will be assessed on the ensuing kickoff.
Safety kicks can be from a tee, but the setup and landing zones are still the same as on kickoffs