NFL rule changes 2025: Tush push survives, new onside-kick policy and every other new rule coming next season
The NFL has its new rules for the 2025 season. After months of debate, at least one key issue was resolved at Wednesday's owners meetings.
While the NFL will look pretty much the same, there are a few key changes coming to the game for the 2025 season. Here's what fans can expect to see once regular-season games start up again in September.
One of the biggest and most controversial rule changes on the docket this offseason was the tush push. The Green Bay Packers wanted to ban the play. The Philadelphia Eagles, as you might expect, were very opposed to the idea.
In the end, the Eagles got their way. The proposal to ban the tush push — which needed 24 votes to pass — came up short Wednesday. NFL team owners voted 22-10 in favor of banning the play, coming in two votes under the required number for a ban.
The Eagles and every other NFL team are free to run the tush push as much as they want in 2025.
One issue that passed without controversy involved a change to the league's onside-kick policy. Under the previous policy, teams could declare an onside kick only in the fourth quarter of games. The new policy, which was adopted by the league Wednesday, allows teams to declare onside kicks at any point in the game.
The NFL's owners have passed a rule change that would allow teams to declare onside kicks at any point during a game if they are trailing.They will be kicked from the 34 instead of the 35, per source.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) May 21, 2025
The team that declares an onside kick needs to be trailing in the contest. That part of the rule is not changing.
As part of the new policy, the onside kick will be kicked from the 34-yard line, and not the 35-yard line, per The Athletic.
On Tuesday, NFL franchise owners voted unanimously to allow players to try out for flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The 32 clubs will allow one of their players to play on each country's team. The NFL's international pathway players will also be allowed to participate without restrictions.
The change could result in interest from multiple prominent NFL players. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was among the first to hype up the possibility after the proposal passed Tuesday, saying it was a dream to win a gold medal for the United States.
The final issue on the docket for the May meetings was scrapped at the last minute. The Detroit Lions' proposal to alter how the NFL playoffs were seeded was taken off the table before a vote occurred. The team reportedly did not have enough support for the proposal, and opted to remove it from consideration.
It's possible the proposal gets reintroduced in the future, but playoff seeding will remain unchanged for the 2025 NFL season.
The tush-push ban, onside-kick change, Olympic eligibility and the Lions' reseeding proposal were the four main issues to be discussed by team owners in May.
The league also adopted a handful of new rules and policies at its league meetings in March. Those changes are listed below.
The NFL is changing its overtime rules in 2025, but they should look familiar. In 2025, both teams will receive a possession in overtime during regular-season games. It's the same overtime format the NFL used in the postseason in 2024.
The league's overtime format became a popular topic of discussion following the Kansas City Chiefs' 42-36 win over the Buffalo Bills in 2022. After tying the game at the end of regulation, the Chiefs won the coin toss in overtime and scored on their first possession. The Bills were eliminated from the playoffs without touching the ball in overtime.
Months later, the NFL altered its overtime policy for the postseason, allowing both teams to possess the ball in overtime. If the score is still tied after both teams have a possession, the next team to score will win the game. That policy will now also apply during regular-season games after it was approved in March.
Replay review can be used to look at even more plays in 2025. Under the new policy, "hits on a defenseless player, grabbing the facemask, performing a horse-collar tackle, tripping and running into or roughing the kicker" can be reviewed, according to Pro Football Talk.
In order for those penalties to be reviewed, officials need to first throw a flag on the play. A coach may challenge the play if they believe that penalty was unwarranted. Coaches cannot use a challenge to try and coax a penalty from an official. If a flag wasn't thrown on a particular play, or if an official missed a penalty, a coach cannot challenge to try and change that.
Sony's Hawk-Eye cameras will be used to measure first downs in 2025. The cameras will effectively replace on-field chain gang measurements on crucial plays. The league will use six 8K cameras to track the ball's position on the field.
The league expects the change will save roughly 40 seconds compared to manual chain-gang measurements.
Anyone concerned the change will eliminate the chain gang completely can rest easy. The NFL said in March it will utilize the chain gang "in a secondary capacity."
The NFL is trying to encourage more kick returns. The league will move touchbacks to the 35-yard line in 2025. This is a change from the 2024 season, when touchbacks were brought out to the 30-yard line.
The change is aimed at increasing the amount of returned kickoffs around the league.
Teams returned kickoffs at a roughly 33 percent rate in 2024. Under the new policy, the league expects that number to jump to between 60-70 percent, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
A proposal that would allow teams to speak directly to free agents passed during the league's March meetings. The Pittsburgh Steelers proposed the new rule, which will allow teams to speak directly to free agents and schedule travel for those players during negotiating windows.
Under the old policy, teams were not allowed to schedule travel for players and could only speak to a player's agent during negotiating windows.
The new policy will be adopted on a one-year trial basis and is subject to change after the 2025 season.
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