New NFL rules coming in 2025: Here’s what to expect for the new season

The NFL made some significant rule changes to its kickoff ahead of the 2024 season. Those rule changes were approved on a one-year trial basis. Now that the season has come and gone with the new rules in place, the league is considering its overall success, and making some potential tweaks again ahead of the 2025 season. For any rule change in the NFL, at least 24 league owners (of the 32) have to approve it for it to pass.

NFL potential rule changes for 2025: what to expect

Not only will the NFL discuss rule changes to the kickoff, but the league will also consider changes to the onside kick and the replay assist for the 2025 season. Here’s an outline of the potential changes to expect for this year.

The Kickoff

• Move the touchback to the 35-yard line
• Start the kickoff at the kicking team’s 30-yard line

Ahead of the 2024 season, the NFL introduced the “dynamic kickoff”, which was meant to increase kickoff returns and decrease injuries. It did achieve that. In 2024, there were 332 more returns than the previous season, and the most returns of 40 yards since the 2016 season. The return rate in the regular season increased from 21.8% to 32.8% from the previous season.

So, although it was mostly a success, the return rate in 2024 (despite being up from 2023) was still the second-lowest since 2000. So the league is still searching for ways to increase that. According to Rich McKay, the NFL’s co-chairman of the competition committee, they may implement a rule that, until two days before the start of the 2024 regular season, had already been included in the original proposal: to move the touchback to the 35-yard line (instead of the 30). This is meant to discourage the kicking team from simply booting the ball to the end zone on the kickoff.

McKay also suggested that the kicking team could move five yards back on the kickoff itself, so that the kicker would set up at his team’s 30-yard line, rather than the 35.

“You’ll have people that’ll say both,” said McKay via the Washington Post. “You’ll have people say one or the other. It’s always easier to start with one or the other than it is both. And you want to have all of the health and safety implications or potential implications from either change. But I think it’ll be one or the other, I would think. You never know. I know there’s people already talking about, ‘Hey, let’s talk about both.’ But I also know there’s this thing called 24 votes."

The Onside Kick

• Replace the play with a 4th-and-15 or 4th-and-20 attempt
• Change the way the team’s line up for the onside kick

The onside kick has admittedly become one of the most boring plays in the NFL. Of the 42 attempts in 2024, only three were recovered.

So, the NFL may propose replacing that play for a 4th-and-15 or 4th-and-20 attempt instead. Then, the team would have another chance to gain the necessary yardage instead of being forced to kick. That’s something that’s been proposed several times over the last few years and will likely be discussed within the league this year.

“I could see it because [teams have] brought it up before,” McKay said. “That said, you have to get 24 votes. So you have to have other alternatives, one of which may be, ‘OK, should we tweak the way that they line up and see if we can get the percentage to move?’”

The Replay Assist

• Include the “objective aspects” of penalties
• Use technology on 1st downs

McKay said that the league wants to expand the replay assist to include the “objective aspects” of penalties. There is a system which tracks a dozen different scenarios (roughing the passer, intentional grounding, among others). More clear-cut penalties could be added to that system (like the quarterback slide, for example). McKay also said that they will be considering using technology on first downs in the 2025 season.

NFL owner’s meeting

The NFL’s next owners meeting will be from March 30 to April 2 in Palm Beach, Florida. During that meeting, they’ll likely discuss these potential changes to give us a better idea of what to expect for the 2025 season.

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