NFL owners approve rule change that would spot all ‘fair catch’ kickoffs at the 25-yard-line
NFL owners approve rule change that would recognize all fair catch kickoffs at the 25-yard line, despite major backlash from special teams and even an irate Pat McAfee
NFL owners approved a rule change whereby the ball would be placed on the 25-yard line after a fair catch on a kickoff.
The NFL voted Tuesday on whether to pass a rule that will spot the ball on the 25-yard line on kickoff when someone calls for a fair catch.
The new rule states that the fair catch of a free kick (safety or kickoff) must occur behind the team’s 25-yard line to put the ball on the 25-yard line.
Previously, the rules stated that any kick returner who calls a fair catch gets the ball on the yard line he is currently standing on. The only exception is if they call a fair catch and it rolls into the end zone for a touchback – when placed on the 25.
The change will not be permanent, initially for just one year, with the league citing ‘player safety’ as the reason for its proposal.
The NFL changed the fair catches on kickoff rule, moving the ball to the 25 yard line
Rich McKay, the president of the NFL league committee, announced the change Tuesday
The rule was initially proposed by the league’s league commission in March as the NFL continues to reduce injuries in special team play and, after being submitted for two months, was finally passed by owners at the Spring League Meeting in Minneapolis .
This rule will create seismic waves in kickoff strategy, how returners are used, and how different special teams are set up — as pointed out by Tennessee Titans special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman.
“There will be a lot of different things. Could have two returners instead of one over there. There could be all kinds of different scenarios that could happen with that,” he said after the rule was passed.
According to a analysis of the starting position of the field for teams at the kick-off, the average return between 2018 and 2020 was 27.15 metres. Setting this rule will likely increase that starting position.
The reaction to the rule being passed was swift and mostly negative – not just from special team players, but also from players on both offense and defense.
Keisean Nixon — the Green Bay Packers returner who led the league in return yards last year and was named a first-team All-Pro — jokingly responded to the news on an Instagram story, saying, “Lol, what is a fair catch?’
Special team players from around the league expressed their views on the new rule changes
More to follow.