Touchbacks will move to the 35-yard line
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.
Is this a misprint? I can't seem to make sense of how giving the receiving 5 more yards for not running the ball back, is going to increase the number of returns.
It's because of the rules... I believe by making the touchback the 35 yard line, it forces the kicking team to make sure they kick the ball into the "landing zone", where it is not allowed to be fair caught. Basically:Touchbacks will move to the 35-yard line
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.
Is this a misprint? I can't seem to make sense of how giving the receiving 5 more yards for not running the ball back, is going to increase the number of returns.
- If a team kicks it into the endzone directly - it goes to the 35 if not returned
- If a team kicks it into the landing zone (between the goal line and 20 yard line) - it must be returned
- If a kick hits the landing zone and goes into the endzone, it can be returned or downed... but downing it is only brought to the 20
So basically this has to do with the kicking team, not the receiving team. It's incentivizing kickers to hit the landing zone, and not kick it into or out of the endzone.
