In one of the most significant rule changes in NFL history, league owners voted today to fundamentally change the kickoff.
In a vote at the annual league meeting, the NFL has adopted a low-impact kickoff, modeled on what has previously been used in the XFL, that the league believes will increase the number of returns while decreasing the number of injuries.
Fans will notice major changes immediately, starting with the first play of every game: Kickoffs will not look the same this year.
Under the new rule, 10 players on the kicking team and at least nine players on the receiving team will line up just five yards apart and won’t begin running until the ball gets back to the returner, meaning players won’t be going full speed when they crash into each other, which caused so many injuries on kickoffs in years past. Of the 22 players on the field, only the kicker and one or two kickoff returners will line up separately from those players who are five yards apart.
The kicker will kick the ball from his own 35-yard line. Ten of his teammates will line up on the other team’s 40-yard line. The receiving team’s nine or 10 blockers will line up on their own 35-yard line. The kick must land between the 20-yard line and the goal line. A kick that either goes out of bounds or lands short of the 20 will be awarded to the receiving team at the 40-yard line. A kick that goes into the end zone for a touchback will go out to the receiving team’s 30-yard line.
Other than the kicker and returners, no players may move until the ball either touches the ground or is fielded by a returner.
The rule was changed as a one-year trial, which means it will need to be re-approved next year or else the league will revert to its previous kickoff rules.
When the rule was tried in the XFL, injuries were down and returns were up. That’s what the NFL hopes to see this year. And the kickoff in the NFL will look different than it has ever looked before.