Donald Trump blasts new NFL kickoff rules and credits college football for refusing to cave in to player safety

Donald Trump has once again focused on the NFL’s adjustment to kickoffs.

Speak with Clay Travis from Outkick.com During Saturday’s Georgia-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa, the Republican Party presidential candidate complained about the NFL’s efforts to make kickoffs safer for players.

‘…I don’t know what they do with the kickoff return in the NFL, and I don’t want to get involved in any controversy, but it looks so bad, and I noticed they didn’t do that in college , and they shouldn’t be doing that, and I think the NFL should go back,” Trump told Travis, an outspoken supporter of the 45th president.

The NFL has adjusted its kickoff rules in recent years due to safety concerns, but has noticed that this results in fewer kicks being returned. Last season, for example, only 21.8 percent of kickoffs were returned. In 2010 that figure was 80 percent.

So to revive the kickoff, the NFL adjusted the rules again. To reduce the impact of collisions, the return team now has at least nine blockers positioned in the ‘deployment zone’ between the 30 and 35 yard lines, with at least seven of those players hitting the 35.

New NFL kickoff rules no longer allow the kicking team to get a running start before contact is made

A maximum of two returners are allowed in the 20.

Only the kicker and two returners may move until the ball touches the ground or is touched by a returner inside the 20. And any kick that reaches the end zone in the air can be returned, or the receiving team can opt for a touchback and possession at the 30. Any kick that reaches the end zone in the air and goes out of bounds or out of the end zone will also result in a touchback at the 30.

Speaking about the offseason rule change, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell crowed that “the game is going to be relevant again… and I think we can do it where the injury rate is going to go down.”

But through the first four weeks of the season, Trump was unimpressed.

Referring to the more traditional kickoff lineup still used by the NCAA, Trump admitted “maybe it’s a little more dangerous” before quickly contradicting himself.

“I doubt it’s more dangerous,” he told Travis. “It’s, you know, it’s football. I think [the NFL] made a terrible mistake. But look at this, [college football hasn’t] I did it, it was the first thing I looked at. I said, ‘Did they do it?’ It looks so strange and you don’t change something that works.

“But this is really big-time football,” he said, referring to Alabama’s upset of rival Georgia. “And it’s great to see.”

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump waves flanked by former Georgia Bulldogs player Herschel Walker, recording artist Kid Rock, professional golfer John Daily, Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville (R) and Katie Britt (R) during the second half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium

Trump isn’t entirely pessimistic about the 2024 NFL season. In fact, he’s especially encouraged by the arrival of first-year announcer Tom Brady.

Asked by Travis for a review of Brady’s early work, Trump said that “he’s done a very good job.”

“And I think he’s going to do well and he’s a winner and a champion,” Trump said of Brady, with whom he previously played golf. ‘There will always be people who are jealous of him. So no matter how well he does, they will say it in the most negative way possible. I think he’s doing fantastically well.’

Travis ended the interview by fawning over Trump.

“In just over 35 days, you’re going to do great,” he told Trump of his chances in the general election. “We know you’re going to win.”