So much for the new kickoff rule

Gee, who didn't see this coming? In preseason they kicked in between the 20 and goal line because why not? Predictably to anyone with a brain, that quickly ended as soon as the games mattered and it wasn't a bunch of guys who they were going to cut anyway on the field. Kickers who can (pretty much all of them) will just boom it into the endzone and let them start on the 30. They might as well stop kicking off altogether and just put it on the 30. Every off season the rules committee finds new and idiotic ways to ruin the game.

 

Yup! there was some buzz starting about moving that to the 35 or 40 to make it a little more temping not to, but they kept it for some reason.

 

The Results are in from 2025, and the new Kickoff rule resulted in an increase of over 300% for head injuries on Kickoffs compared to 2024.


NFL’s ‘safe’ kickoff rule increased concussions 338%—now owners quietly changed it again

The NFL sold its 2024 dynamic kickoff as a breakthrough for player safety. Owners stood at podiums. Executives cited reduced injury numbers. The league ran the victory lap before the season even started. Then the 2025 data came back. Kickoff-related concussions jumped from 8 to 35 in a single season. That’s a 338% increase on the play the league promised it had fixed