If the NFL offers to move the touchback to a 35-yard line pass, we expect a kickoff rate that will be about doubled in 2025 compared to 2024.
Last year, 33% of kickoffs were returned after the new “dynamic” kickoff rules were implemented. This was the second lowest rate of return in NFL history, although it was an increase from 22% of kickoffs returned in 2023 in the final year of the old kickoff rules. In 2022, 38% of kickoffs were returned, and most kickoffs returned every season in NFL history until touchbacks suddenly rose in 2013.
The new “dynamic” kickoff rule puts a touchback on the 30-yard line, and most teams concluded that booting the ball into the end zone is safer than risking long returns. That’s why 64% of the kickoffs were still on the touchback.
Under the proposed rule that puts a touchback on the 35-yard line, the league estimates that around 60% to 70% of the kickoff will be returned. The competition committee studied this issue and concluded that if the receiving team is given another five yards on the touchback, most kick teams will play the ball rather than kicking into the end zone.
And that’s what the NFL wants. Because kickoffs are similar to normal soccer plays with action on the field. The league largely changed its kickoff rules in response to an increase in injuries at kickoff, and data for 2024 showed that it worked. Injuries are almost common at kickoffs, just like any other play. So, the NFL is working on action-packed kickoffs just like any other play.
