The NFL is introducing a new kickoff rule for the 2024 season. As has now been announced, a twelfth player is also permitted on the pitch under special conditions.

Twelve players on the field at the same time always means a penalty in the NFL.

In the coming season, however, there will be a scenario in which precisely this circumstance will be permitted. The reason for this is the new kickoff rule.

Experienced NFL referee John Hussey attended the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp on Saturday and presented the details of the reform to the media representatives present.

Specifically, a twelfth player is allowed on the field in particularly windy games if the ball does not remain on the kickoff tee, the holder for the execution. In this case, an additional player is released as a holder for the execution.

However, this remains the case, as otherwise the twelfth man is not allowed to take any further part in the game after holding the ball for the kicker. “There’s nothing they can do,” Hussey is quoted as saying by Fox4KC.com.

New kickoff rule causes confusion for NFL teams

The new kickoff rule was passed in March and, according to “CBS”, is currently still causing plenty of unanswered questions among the teams. Some franchises, such as the Chiefs, are said to be seriously considering using a position player as kicker, while other teams want their kicker to take the kickoffs as usual.

The reigning Super Bowl champions’ reasoning is explained by the fact that the new rule calls for the kicker to stand at his own 35-yard line, while his ten teammates are lined up 25 yards away at the return team’s 40-yard line. Each member of the receiving team must stand with one foot on the 40-yard line until the ball is caught or hits the ground in the landing zone.

The kicker may not cross the 50-yard line until the ball is in play, so that the twelfth man (holder) has enough time to leave the field of play in the meantime.

Another change to the rule is that the ball is considered “out of bounds” if a returner touches the ball while one foot is outside the landing zone. Under the old rule, the ball was considered “out of bounds” if a player touched the football while any part of his body was outside the landing zone. The return team received the ball at the 40-yard line.

Since the landing zone begins at the return team’s 20-yard line, this means that the ball is now considered out of bounds and the return team receives the ball at the 40-yard line if the returner touches the ball with a foot at the 20.5-yard line.

The new rule will initially be tested in the NFL for one year and could possibly be abolished again by the 2025 season if the team owners are not satisfied with the effects.

The rule adjustment will be used for the first time in a few days when the Chicago Bears meet the Houston Texans in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 1.