NFL’s new kickoff: What is it? Why did it change? What are the rules for 2024? Everything you need to know

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The NFL’s kickoff has a brand-new look for the 2024 NFL season, as will be apparent at the very start of this year’s opening game, a Thursday night clash between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.

But where did these changes come from? How, exactly, does the new kickoff work? And is the revamped special teams play here to stay? Here’s everything you need to know:

What happened to the kickoff?

This offseason, the NFL adopted all-new kickoff rules similar to those deployed by the revived XFL spring league, which redefine when players can start moving and where they line up. The new setup ultimately resembles a play from scrimmage more than a traditional kickoff.

Why did the NFL do this?

League executives had been openly entertaining potential kickoff changes for years, mostly in the name of enhanced player safety. Kickoffs have long featured some of the highest-speed collisions in the sport, whereas the new setup greatly reduces the potential for players to gain momentum before contact. Additionally, however, the new kickoff also promotes more returns. In recent years, touchbacks had become so common — and incentivized — that it became rarer and rarer for runbacks to occur at all. Had the old format stayed intact, some believe the NFL would’ve simply eliminated the play altogether.

How does it work, exactly?

The simplest way to explain the new kickoff — officially deemed the “Dynamic Kickoff” — is to say that no one except the kicker and returner(s) can move until a kickoff is actually fielded.

But the entire setup is as follows:

NFL

Alignment:

All kicking-team players besides…


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Author : Cody Benjamin

Publish date : 2024-09-05 11:31:50

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