The National Football League announced before the 2024 season that it would introduce new NFL kickoff rules to dramatically increase the number of kickoff returns during games. If Week 1 is a sign of what’s to come, the new rules had very limited impact.
When the NFL announced its new dynamic kickoff rules, it emphasized the rationale behind the change. League officials wanted to ‘address the lowest kickoff return rate in NFL history’, per NFL Operations, which occurred during the 2023 season.
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However, throughout the preseason, some closest to the game were offering warnings regarding the effectiveness of the new NFL kickoff rules. Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was among several players and coaches hinting that there could be a much higher frequency of touchbacks than the NFL hoped to see.
“I think what we saw in preseason was most teams kicking the ball so it would be returned so they could evaluate their coverage,. Once you get into the regular season, just touchback ‘em. I mean, you put the ball on the 30 instead of the 25, big deal, I’d rather do that than kick it to one of these guys who’s got a chance to change field position on you in a hurry. I think we saw more returns in the preseason, percentage-wise, than we’re going to see in the regular season.”
Bill Belichick in August on The Pat McAfee Show
With 15 games in the books for Week 1, there’s already a decent sample size of how a majority of teams plan to handle kickoffs this year. Just as those closest to the game expected, the new NFL kickoff rules had a minute impact on the return rate.
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As highlighted by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, 63.5 percent of the kickoffs in the first 15 games of the 2025 NFL regular season went for touchbacks. That’s just under a 10 percent drop from last season’s record-setting market of a 73 percent touchback rate.
While a 9.5 percent increase in kickoff returns could be seen as a small positive, it falls well short of what the league suggested would happen. It’s also very unlikely that the NFL kickoff rules will be tweaked in September, with league officials wanting to gather more data to make a decision.
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If rule changes are going to be made, then the only realistic options are either to move the kickoff spot back another 5 yards or state that a returner who downs the ball in the end zone gets the ball at the 25-yard line instead of the 30-yard line. Otherwise, a majority of NFL teams will happily settle for starting their possessions at the 30-yard line.