In a February Super Bowl showdown in Las Vegas, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Harrison Butker kicked off the game with a touchback. The moment, eagerly awaited by fans in the stadium and millions watching on TV, ended with a predictable result: no return, no excitement.
While past Super Bowls saw dynamic kick returns, Super Bowl LVIII featured 13 consecutive touchbacks, a testament to the lack of excitement in the play.
Determined to make kickoffs more engaging, the NFL implemented new rules for the 2024 season, designed to increase returns and reduce injuries.
Under the new rules, kickoffs will still originate from the 35-yard line, but receiving teams will start at their own 30-yard line, rather than the 25, on a touchback. This change creates a slight incentive for the kicking team to try for a return. The kicking team will also have 10 players lined up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line, as opposed to the traditional kickoff point. The receiving team is required to have at least nine players in the “setup zone” between their own 35- and 30-yard lines.
These new alignments mimic a play from scrimmage, bringing the teams closer together, potentially reducing the risk of high-impact collisions. The ball must be returned if it lands in the “landing zone,” between the 20-yard line and the goal line. (If the kick fails to reach the 20, the receiving team takes possession at their own 40.)
“The goal is to make the kickoff relevant again, bring back that exciting play, but in a way that minimizes injuries, which have historically been common on kickoffs,” explains Walt Anderson, former referee and current NFL officiating rules analyst. “That’s the challenge.”
Early indications are positive. Over 70% of kickoffs were returned during the 2024 preseason, compared to 54.8% in 2023. The league also witnessed 18 returns of at least 40 yards, double the number from the previous year.
However, the regular season may reveal a different story. Only 22% of NFL kickoffs were returned in the 2023 season, the lowest ever. Teams might be more inclined to kick for touchbacks in exhibition games to evaluate their coverage units. Some experts, like former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, remain skeptical about the effectiveness of the new rules.
Belichick believes that teams will continue to opt for touchbacks in regular season games, as the risk of allowing a talented returner to gain substantial yardage outweighs the minimal advantage of a five-yard difference in starting position. “Once you get into the regular season, if the [opposing] team’s got good returners, it’s just gonna be touchbacks,” Belichick said on The Pat McAfee Show in August. “That’s all it’s gonna be. You put them on the 30 instead of 25, I mean, big deal. But I’d rather do that than kick it to one of these guys that can change field position on you in a hurry.”
Belichick suggests moving the kickoff spot back to the 20 or 25 to encourage more returns. This adjustment would make it harder for kickers to consistently put the ball out of bounds.
The NFL’s new kickoff rules are a one-year experiment. If the format fails to achieve its intended results, the league can make adjustments.
“We’ll see what happens during the course of the year,” says Anderson. “Do we want to end up making some changes? Do we want to go back to the drawing board? Everything’s on the table.”