Sports

Here’s how the new NFL rules on kickoffs and overtime will work

Published

3 days ago

April 3, 2025

The one-year trial version of the dynamic kickoff in the NFL led to an uptick in the return rate that wasn’t quite as much as the league had hoped.

Now the new form of the kickoff that is more like a scrimmage play is permanent with a change for 2025 that the league hopes will lead to a significant increase in returns.

Owners voted Tuesday to move touchbacks on kicks from the 30 to the 35 in hopes that more teams will kick the ball in play instead of giving up an extra 5 yards of field position.

The league also approved changes to the overtime rule, expanded replay assist and made a few other technical changes at the league meetings in Palm Beach, Florida.

Here’s an explanation of some of the new rules that will be in place.

What’s new with the kickoff?

The league was mostly pleased with the experimental kickoff put in place for 2024 that led to the rate of kickoff returns increasing from a record-low 21.8% in 2023 to 32.8% last season, while reducing the rate of injuries on what had been the game’s most dangerous play.

The rule made kickoffs more like scrimmage plays by placing the coverage players and blockers close together to eliminate the high-speed collisions that had contributed to so many injuries on the play. The league said the rate of concussions dropped 43% on returns with a significant reduction as well on lower-body injuries.

The problem last season was many teams still opted to kick the ball in the end zone because the touchback wasn’t punitive enough with the average starting field position on a touchback being only 2.4 further than the average starting position after returns that was the 27.6-yard line.

By moving the touchback to the 35, the league projects that the return rate will rise to somewhere between 60% and 70% with a similar increase in long returns, adding more excitement to the game.

The league also approved a small tweak to how how blockers on the return team are allowed to line up in the setup zone that could lead to longer returns.

How will overtime change?

The league approved a proposal to make regular season overtime more like the postseason with both teams getting a chance at a possession, even if the team that got the ball first scored a touchdown.

The NFL added regular season overtime in 1974, adding a 15-minute sudden death period that ended on any score. In 2010, the rule was tweaked to a “modified” sudden death that required an opening possession touchdown to immediately end the game instead of only a field goal in both the regular season and playoffs.

Overtime then was shortened for the regular season to only 10 minutes in 2017. A rule change in 2022 for the playoffs only gave both teams the chance to score even with a touchdown on the opening possession.

Now that will be the case in the playoffs, after the improved field position on kickoffs made winning in OT on an opening possession TD easier.

According to Sportradar, six of the 16 overtime games last season ended on an opening drive TD for the most overtime games ended on the first drive since the rule change went into effect in 2010.

In all, teams that won the overtime toss won 75% of the time last season, according to Sportradar, and have a .606 winning percentage in overtime since it was cut to 10 minutes.

The league kept the 10-minute overtime period instead of expanding it back to 15 minutes like was originally proposed by Philadelphia, which could lead teams opting to go for 2 and a win if they match an opening drive TD with one of their own since there might not be time for another possession.

Replay assist

The NFL expanded its replay assist system to overturn objective calls such as facemask penalties, whether there was forcible contact to the head or neck area, horse-collar tackles, tripping if there was “clear and obvious” evidence that a foul didn’t occur. Replay also would be able to overturn a roughing-the-kicker or running-into-the-kicker penalty if video showed the defender made contact with the ball.

The league has been using replay assist in recent years to overturn obvious errors on aspects like whether a pass is caught or where the ball should be spotted without the referee needing to stop the game for a review.

The Competition Committee says there’s no interest in allowing replay assists to call penalties on plays missed by officials on the field.

Other changes

There were a few procedural rules changed. Teams will now by able to conduct Zoom or phone meetings with prospective free agents during the so-called legal tampering period.

Teams can place two players on injured reserve with the designation to return when rosters are reduced to 53 players instead of after. Playoff teams also will be granted two additional return from IR designations.

What’s up with the tush push?

A proposal by Green Bay to outlaw the tush push that Philadelphia has used so successfully was tabled until the May meetings. A vote on a proposal to tweak the onside kick rule also was delayed until May, along with a proposal by Detroit to change the playoff seeding to place wild-card teams ahead of a division winner with a worse record.

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Sports

Quinn, Tuch score shootout goals in Sabres 3-2 win over playoff-bound Lightning

Published

1 hour ago

April 6, 2025

Austin Reed

Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch celebrates after his goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch scored shootout goals, and the Buffalo Sabres rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits in a 3-2 win over the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.

Despite the loss, the Lightning clinched their eighth straight playoff berth following the New York Rangers’ 4-0 loss to New Jersey earlier in the day.

Tage Thompson and Jason Zucker scored for Buffalo, which has won six of seven and five straight at home. James Reimer stopped 22 shots through overtime and both shootout attempts to win his career-best matching sixth straight start.

Brayden Point and rookie Gage Goncalves scored for the Lightning and Jonas Johansson stopped 36 shots, and one of three shootout attempts.

Sitting second in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning moved two points ahead of third-place Florida, but fell four back of the division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs.

Takeaways

Lightning: Started slowly in failing to register their first shot on net until 14:12 in, and were outshot 9-2 in the first period. Ended slowly, combining for nine shots over the final 25 minutes.

Sabres: Thompson’s goal was his 40th, making him Buffalo’s first player with multiple 40-goal seasons since Thomas Vanek in 2006-07 and 2008-09, and ninth overall. Rick Martin tops the list with five 40-goal seasons.

Key moment

Zucker tied the game at 2 with a power-play goal 5:07 into the third. Rasmus Dahlin’s initial shot was blocked and the puck dribbled to Zucker, who swept it in under Johansson’s pad.

Key stat

Tampa Bay dropped to 32-8-5 when scoring first and 35-1-2 when leading after two periods.

Up Next

The Lightning complete a four-game road swing at the New York Rangers on Monday night, while Buffalo hosts Boston on Sunday night.

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Langford’s 2-run homer in the seventh inning lifts Rangers past Rays 6-4 for 4th straight win

Published

2 hours ago

April 6, 2025

Austin Reed

Texas Rangers’ Wyatt Langford, right, celebrates his home run with teammate Joc Pederson (4) during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wyatt Langford hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning after Jacob deGrom allowed a four-run lead to slip away and the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.

After the Rays trailed 4-0 after one inning, Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run homer as part of Tampa Bay’s three-run sixth that tied it at 4.

Aranda’s homer and Kameron Misner’s double knocked deGrom from the game. DeGrom allowed four runs and eight hits — including homers by Aranda and Brandon Lowe — in 5⅔ innings.

Texas scored four times in the first against Rays starter Taj Bradley. Marcus Semien hit a leadoff homer and Jake Burger had a three-run shot with two outs after Langford and Adolis Garcia walked.

Bradley regrouped and held the Rangers hitless over the next four innings. He allowed four runs and two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Robert Garcia (1-0), the Rangers’ third pitcher, got one out to earn the win. Luke Jackson pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Mason Montgomery (0-1) gave up Langford’s homer and took the loss.

Key moment

Although Langford’s two-run homer gave Texas the lead, Kevin Pillar led off the inning with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Danny Jansen ahead of the homer.

Key stat

DeGrom allowed multiple homers in a game for the first time since Sept. 30, 2022, when the Braves hit three against him when he was with the Mets.

Up next

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen faces Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker in the series finale at 1:35 p.m. Sunday.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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Sports

Kansas City Mayor Claims The City Has Money For a Royals’ Stadium

Published

14 hours ago

April 5, 2025

Austin Reed

Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, Missouri mayor

The Royals’ owner wants a new stadium soon.

Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas said his city has offered more than $1 billion to the owner of the Major League Baseball Kansas City Royals franchise John Sherman to help Sherman build a new downtown stadium or renovate the business’s 52-year-old home stadium. “We do have, I think, a very robust offer that combines state and local incentives,” Lucas said. “It’s my view that gets you to a $1.2 to $1.4 billion range with no tax increase. It doesn’t calculate or include the current Jackson County sales tax.” Sherman has been talking to political leaders in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri and politicians in Kansas about getting a stadium-village built somewhere in the Kansas City market.

Sherman has been looking for a site for his business for a year after the Jackson County, Missouri voters said no to extending a sales tax that would have funded a new baseball stadium in downtown Kansas City and a renovated stadium for the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Kansas lawmakers are still mulling over a proposal that would see STAR bonds used to pay 75% of the cost of building two stadiums in Kansas. Additionally, sports gambling and lottery gaming and sales tax revenue from businesses in the stadium development districts would cover bond debt. Another source of revenue to pay off the debt would come from a liquor tax. Kansas lawmakers could use a mechanism that would allow up to 100% of sales tax revenue on alcoholic liquor sales within a stadium district to pay off bonds for the structures. Chiefs’ owner Clark Hunt and Sherman should be in a good spot in 2025 as two states, Missouri and Kansas, might be ready to throw money at them to build stadiums for their businesses. It is a place that sports owners dream about. Sherman wants a stadium deal this year.

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