NFL approves fair-catch twist to kickoffs but new rule falls flat among fans: 'Goodbye fun'
The new rule will have a one-year trial period
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The NFL on Tuesday announced its team owners approved a new kickoff rule in the name of player safety at the spring meeting. The rule will be in place for at least one year.
A receiving team that calls for a fair catch below the 25-yard line will get the ball at the 25 to start the drive. The rule goes like this:
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Texans place kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn kicks off against the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 18, 2022, at NRG Stadium in Houston. (Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"After a fair catch is made, or is awarded as the result of fair-catch interference, the receiving team has the option of putting the ball in play by either a:
"a). fair-catch kick (drop kick or placekick without a tee) from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties or rule) (3-10 and 11-4-3), or
"(b). snap from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties), unless a player on the receiving team makes a fair catch of a free kick behind the receiving team's 25-yard line, in which case the ball will be put in play at the receiving team's 25-yard line.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Note: A receiver may make or be awarded a fair catch in his end zone. If there is fair-catch interference or illegal contact with the receiver after he has made a fair catch."
Not everyone in the NFL world was happy about the new rule. Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee blasted the idea when it was initially floated Monday. He said on his program "nobody really likes" the rule.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ESPN announcer Pat McAfee during the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Jan. 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"It’s the most amateur, bush-league-looking bull---- I have seen in a long time when it comes to the NFL," McAfee said.
More responses came online.
NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay defended the new rule.
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Cleveland running back Jerome Ford catches a kickoff against the Falcons on Oct. 2, 2022, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"We want to keep it in the game," he said via The Washington Post. "I don’t know that we know we can keep it in the game.... We’ve just got to find ways to make the play safer."