The NFL and team owners vote for a new fair-catch rule on kickoffs. Patriots captain Matthew Slater doesn’t like the change much and instead heavily criticizes the league

The new kickoff rule continues to generate plenty of conversation.

Matthew Slater, ten-time Pro Bowler and captain of the New England Patriots, has harshly criticised the NFL for its recent rule change to allow fair catches on kickoffs.

The league cited player safety as the main reason for its decision, which also had to be approved by team owners. An argument Slater questioned after the Pats’ past practice session.

“I just don’t think this is really in the name of player health and safety. What I believe is that the NFL wants to portray itself in a certain way to the public. As a league that cares about its players,” the 37-year-old told US journalists.

Patriots captain Slater criticises NFL

“I can give you a long list of examples where the league and the people in charge are not acting in the best interest of the players,” Slater continued.

Among the arguments the veteran cited were the introduction of the Thursday Night Game, the decision to use artificial turf instead of natural grass and the struggle for health care for players who have been retired for more than five years.

“I understand that we want to reduce head injuries and things like that, but we don’t always pretend that the health and safety of the players is paramount,” Slater said. “If we’re really concerned about player health and safety, we should be talking about the real issues. Let’s not talk about a play where there is a high percentage of no injury at all.”

With the new rule, a fair catch inside one’s own 25-yard line will be counted as a touchback and the receiving team will then get the ball at its own 25. However, that only applies to kickoffs, not punts.

The NFL is thus adapting the rule from college football, which has been playing with this rule since 2018.