The NFL has new kickoff rules for the 2025 Super Bowl. Here’s how they work
This fall, the NFL debuted new kickoff rules, called “dynamic kickoff,” getting rid of the standard kick and receive format in favor of a “landing zone” and new lineup requirements.
The 2025 Super Bowl will be the first championship game with the new setup in effect. The Chiefs-Eagles rematch will kick off around 5:30 p.m. Central.
The new rules are an effort to increase action on kickoffs while avoiding record-high injury rates on kickoffs that happened in earlier seasons. So far, the NFL says the rules have worked toward that effect. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in October that injuries were down and more kickoffs were being returned.
According to the NFL, in the 2024 regular season, the return rate increased from 21.8% to 32.8%.
But President Donald Trump, in attendance at Sunday’s game, recently posted on Truth Social that it made football “more dangerous,” after previously saying the rule took away “an exciting part of football.”
If you’re just tuning into the season for the 2025 Super Bowl, here’s how the new rules work:
Lining up
One of the biggest changes under the new rule is how the teams line up.
While the kicker sets up at his 35-yard line (the 20-yard line after a safety), the other 10 players on his team line up at their opponent’s 40-yard line.
At least nine of the 11 players on the field for the receiving team have to line up between their own 30- and 35-yard lines and seven of them need to have one foot on the 35-yard line, setting them up exactly 5 yards away from their opponent. This is called the “setup zone.”
Up to two players of the receiving team can stand in the “landing zone,” the area between the end zone and the 20-yard line.
The players in the landing zone can move any time before or during the kick. The other players must remain stationary until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone or end zone touches the ball.
The kicker can’t cross the 50-yard line until the ball hits the ground or hits a player in the landing zone or end zone.
The kickoff
If the ball doesn’t make it to the landing zone or lands out of bounds, the receiving team will get the ball on their 40-yard line.
If the ball makes it into the landing zone, the receivers are forced to try and return it.
If the ball lands in the landing zone and bounces into the end zone, the receiver can either try to return it or they can “down” it (where the player gets possession of the ball and takes a knee). If the receiver chooses to down it, the next play starts at the 20-yard line.
If the ball lands directly in the end zone, the receiver can either try to return it or they can down it. If they choose to take a knee, the next play starts at the 30-yard line. If the ball goes past the end zone, either by bouncing or in the air, the next play also starts at the 30-yard line.
Onside kicks
There are no more surprise onside kicks, where a team makes a short kick and tries to quickly recover the ball.
Now, onside kicks can only come in the fourth quarter and they can only be tried if the team is losing. If the team wants to try an onside kick, it has to tell the referee. The referee will then tell the receiving team.
The kicking team will still line up at the 35-yard line in most cases, but the receiving team will line up 10 yards away.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
