APRIL 1: As expected, owners approved the proposed amendment to tweak the kickoff setup (h/t Dianna Russini of The Athletic). Touchbacks will be moved up to the 35 starting next season as a result. No decision was made with respect to amending onside kicks, meanwhile; the vote on that front will take place in May.
MARCH 29: When the league meeting kicks off tomorrow, one of the topics of discussion will be related to the dynamic kickoff instituted on a trial basis for 2024. The expectation remains that the new setup will be made permanent, albeit with a few alterations. 
The competition committee has proposed moving forward with the dynamic kickoff alignment on a full-time basis, as detailed by ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. That comes as little surprise, as indications from last month pointed to such a move. In response to dwindling kick return rates, the NFL adopted the XFL-style setup for one year; a spike in the frequency of returns took place, but not to the extent that many predicted.
[RELATED: Owners Likely To Discuss 18-Game Schedule]
32.8% of kickoffs produced a return in 2024, and the competition committee’s latest proposal aims at increasing the figure moving forward. The committee has officially proposed moving the point of touchbacks up from the 30-yard line to the 35, as first reported by Mark Maske of the Washington Post. The league projects a return rate between 60% and 70% as a result of that tweak, which the owners will discuss in the coming days.
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones wrote earlier this month the league could consider not only moving up the spot for touchbacks but also altering where kickoffs take place. Moving kickers back five yards could have helped achieve the goal of fewer touchbacks, but, per Jones, a view exists around the league that many would still be able to reach the end zone even with that tweak. While moving touchbacks will receive consideration, it does not appear the same will be true for pushing back the location of kickoffs.
In past years, teams have proposed alternatives to the increasingly-challenging onside kick. For 2025, however, no fourth-and-15 or fourth-and-20 ideas will be on the table (h/t Maske). Many have viewed an offensive alternative to onside kicks as being too gimmicky, and that likely remains the case at this point. As Jones notes, the NFL will contemplate tweaking the existing onside kick rule to allow all members of the team attempting an onside kick (rather than just the kicker) to line up on their 30-yard line. That one-yard difference could help the success rate of the play to a small extent.
As things stand, teams can only attempt an onside kick during the fourth quarter, but that too could soon change. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports writes the owners will vote on allowing teams to declare their intention at any point in a game, provided they are trailing at the time. He predicts that measure – along with the aim to formalize dynamic kickoffs and move up the touchback spot – will be ratified.
At least 24 of 32 owners will need to support any change for it to pass at the upcoming meeting. If all goes according to plan, multiple special teams plays will have slightly different rules in play for 2025 and beyond.
Seems simple-remove the restrictions. No more required fourth quarter status, and no more announcement. If it truly is too easy, they can be discussed. The current format does, hypothetically, allow for the onside to be easier, but we don’t have a large sample size in that environment to know for sure.
There is one other factor that the NFL will not consider here, though. Even in today’s gambling environment, coaches still need to consider the worst case scenario, especially on special teams. The rules may have changed on kicks, but one that hasn’t is the fact that the recovering team gets really good field position after an onside attempt. Coaches are going to have to consider that when they make that call.
Would teams go for them more if they were easier (read: possible)? Of course they would. But the consequences of a failed recovery are not going to suddenly go away. As it stands now, the recovery is almost impossible for the attempting team, and the restrictions entirely ruin the surprise factor…which was kind of the central theme of the play in the first place.
Only Goodell would be dumb enough to think some on-side kick tweak is going to significantly improve the on field product he’s trying so hard to export to foreign markets. I generally hate any kind of gimmickry. Why reward teams that are bad at clock management anyway?
A proposal to add offense, again. Yes, returns are nice, but let’s call a spade a spade.
There was nothing wrong with the initial onside kick. Stupid you have to announce it now and wait for 4th qtr.
If the team that kicks off after having scored a touchdown or field goal or begins the game or begins the second half by having that kicked ball clear the goal posts, they will be awarded 3 additional points.
Starting at the 35 is ridiculous. Pretty soon they’ll start at the 50. If touchbacks on kicksoffs start at the 35 why would any one want to do a kickoff return ?
The point is that fewer kickers would kick it deep enough to create a touchback, thereby forcing a kick return.
Which is funny because for years it’s seemed like they were doing everything they could to decrease the number of kickoffs. Now they want more. So much needless tweaking. Stop with the complicated nonsense and just push the kickoff back to the 30. If kickers are still blasting it through the end zone, push it to the 25.
They might as well force an offensive lineman to return the kick and have the PA system play yakety sax the entire time.
They are trying to litigate fun into kickoffs, but the reality was only the best niche dynamic returners made an impact, Hester, Hall, Jackson etc. The scarcity created the drama and anticipation, you cannot create “rules” that turn relative bums into special teams threats. Let the men who have the skill stand out and let the rest of the field be boring.
The kickoff has been trash for too long. Most boring play to watch. Getting the ball at the 35 is silly as you only need to drive 30 yards to kick a FG. Kickers can easily make balls from 50-55 yards today. NFL needs to do better.
If the NFL wants more returns, the rules should work both ways. If the kicking team kicks the ball outta bounds, then the ball should be placed on the 35. But if the receiving team takes a knee in the end zone, then the ball should be placed on the 10. That should up the return rate pretty significantly. Personally don’t think the kick-off shudda been changed in the first place. It wasn’t broke….