The NFL announced numerous rules changes Tuesday, including a new way to measure the first down of the 2025 season.
The league will use Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology as its primary method to measure initial downs.
Hawk-Eye will be implemented in games that host games at all 30 stadiums and international venues. This technology includes six 8K cameras for accurate tracking of the lines the ball acquires.
“We’re excited to announce that we’re a great opportunity to see the world of football,” said Troy Vincent, NFL Vincent, Vice President of Football Business.
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“Combining Sony’s trustworthy Hawkeye system with the art of hosts is a healthy recipe for success in our commitment to increasing standards of accuracy, consistency and efficiency. Replay technology and data-driven insights from Sony’s Hawkeye innovation will help us move our efforts towards the future of football.”
Once staff are notified of the measurement results, virtual recreation will be created in real time within the stadium and for broadcast audiences. The complete process takes about 30 seconds, saving up to 40 seconds from measurements on the chain.
The first down measurement was an important topic in conversation after last season’s AFC Championship between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bill.
Josh Allen was dominated outside the line to get on the controversial fourth and inch play early in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs scored a touchdown on the very next drive and ended up winning game 32-29.
There was already a conversation about the use of virtual measurements, but it reinforced the discussion about new ways to measure lines to get.
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The owner voted Tuesday to move the touchback of kicks from 30 to 35, hoping that more teams will kick the ball on play, rather than giving up on a five-yard field position.
The league has also approved changes to overtime rules, expanded replay assistance, and made several other technical changes at the league meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
Here are some explanations of the new rules that will be introduced.
What’s new in kickoff?
The league is mostly pleased with the introduction of an experimental kickoff in 2024, leading to a percentage of kickoff returns, increasing from 21.8% in 2023 to 32.8% last season, reducing the injury rate for the game’s most dangerous plays.
This rule kicked off like a play of scrimmage by placing coverage players and blockers closely together to eliminate high-speed collisions that contributed to so many injuries in the play. The league said the concussion rate fell by 43% in returns, and also significantly lower lower body injuries.
The problem with last season was that many teams still chose to kick the ball in the end zone as the touchback was not punitive enough, as the average starting position after the return, which was on the 27.6-yard line.
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By moving the touchback to 35, the league will increase its return rate between 60% and 70%, with similar long returns increasing, increasing excitement in the game.
The league has also approved slight tweaks on how return team blockers are allowed to line up in the setup zone.
How will overtime change?
The league approved a proposal to make regular season overtime like a postseason, even if a team that gets the ball scores a touchdown first.
The NFL added regular season overtime in 1974, adding a 15-minute period of sudden death that ended with any score. In 2010, the rules were tweaked to “fixed” sudden deaths that required an opening possession touchdown to close the game, not just field goals in both the regular season and the playoffs.
Overtime was then reduced in the regular season to just 10 minutes in 2017. The 2022 playoff rules change gave both teams the opportunity to score, even a touchdown in the opening possession.
After improving field position at kickoff, it was easier with opening possession TD after winning in OT.
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Six of last season’s 16 overtime games ended with opening drive TD, which ended with the most overtime game that ended on the first drive since the rules change came into effect in 2010.
According to Sportradar, the team that won overtime tossed earned 75% of the time last season, with overtime winnings of 0.606 after being cut to 10 minutes.
Instead of returning to 15 minutes, the league maintained a 10-minute overtime period, as originally proposed by Philadelphia.
Replay assist
The NFL expanded its replay assist system to overturn target calls such as face mask penalties and whether they were forced into contact with head and neck areas, or stumbling when carriage tackles or “clear and obvious” evidence did not arise. Also, if the video shows that the defender has contacted the ball, the replay can remove or overturn the kicker’s running penalty.
The league has used replay assist in recent years to overturn obvious errors regarding aspects such as whether a pass has been caught and where the ball should be discovered without the referee having to stop the game for review.
The competition committee says it is not interested in allowing replay assists to call out penalties for plays that field officials have missed.
Other changes
Several procedural rules have been changed. Teams will be able to Zoom or conference calls with future free agents during what is known as legitimate tampering periods.
Teams can place two players in injured reserves and return to when the roster is reduced to 53 players rather than later. Playoff teams will also receive two additional returns from IREDATIONS.
What happened to Tush Push?
The Green Bay proposal to ban tash pushes used by Philadelphia was submitted until the May meeting. The vote on the proposal to fine-tune the onside kick rules has also been delayed until May, with Detroit’s proposal changing the playoff seeds to place wildcard teams first with a worse record than the division winners.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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