10 Takeaways From NFL Owners Meetings

The league is changing tackling technique, kickoff formations, and even how much time you spend with your family on Christmas. Here’s what you need to know about the future of football.

After a few days of golf and pool time interspersed with committee sessions and interviews, the NFL’s annual owners meetings wrapped up Tuesday in Orlando. Some meaningful rule changes were decided, team leaders gave notable updates on free agency and draft preparations, and the coaches organized themselves by their various cliques–Friends of Shanahan, Hawaiian Shirt Guys, Harbaughs–to take their annual group photo. Here are several takeaways from the three days:

There Will Be Fines

The buzziest topic at the meetings this year was the elimination of the swivel hip-drop tackle, a technique the league describes as when a defender swings his weight into the hips and legs of a player in the process of bringing that player to the ground.

The infraction carries a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down should a player be flagged for using the technique. But tape will also be reviewed by the league after the fact, and fines will be issued for offending players—including ones who weren’t called for a penalty during the game. Because of the subjective nature of the call and the fact that, by the letter of the law, the penalty could be called on many tackles per game, it seems likely that a lot of the adjudication will wind up coming on Tuesdays in New York, not Sundays on the field.

The Kickoff Has Changed Dramatically

Another rules change approved by the Competition Committee on Tuesday involves the kickoff. The owners approved a significant redesign of the play, one that will make kickoffs look noticeably different going forward, in an attempt to reduce injury risk.

The new rules are designed to reduce the likelihood of players running at each other at full speed. If you’ve seen kickoffs in the XFL, you know roughly what the new NFL kickoffs will look like, since that league was the model for the new formation. Under the new rule, 10 players from the kicking team and at least nine players on the receiving team will line up five yards apart from each other at the start of the play, and they won’t be allowed to begin running until the ball is fielded by the kick returner or touches the ground. At least 19 of the 22 players on the field during kickoffs, therefore, can’t move until well after the actual kick, and only the kicker and one or two return men can get running starts in space.

The kicker will kick the ball from his own 35-yard line. The other 10 players from the kicking team will line up on the opponent’s 40-yard line. The receiving team’s blockers will line up on their own 35-yard line. The kick must land between the 20-yard line and the goal line, and a kick that goes out of bounds or lands short of the 20 will be placed at the 40-yard line for the receiving team’s ensuing possession. Touchbacks will be placed at the receiving team’s 30-yard line.

The rule will likely boost the frequency of kickoff returns. The Steelers seem to think it will, since within hours of the rule passing, they signed four-time All-Pro return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson to a two-year, $6 million deal.

Another outcome of the change is the elimination of the surprise onside kick. Since an onside kick would intentionally land short of the landing zone, which under the new rule would lead to the ball being placed at the 40-yard line for the receiving team, the play is no longer viable. Instead, teams have to declare when they will attempt an onside kick. They can attempt up to two per game, only in the fourth quarter.

Roger Goodell Does Not Want You to Spend Time With Your Family

On Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league would play two games on December 25 in a Christmas Day doubleheader. It was a reversal, of course, since the NFL had previously said it would not play on Christmas this year, which falls on a Wednesday.

This is what the NFL schedule will look like around the holiday:

The teams that play on Christmas will also play the Saturday prior, Goodell said, making the turnaround similar to a Sunday-to-Thursday stretch. Still, that means three games in 11 days for players on four teams.

The Trade Deadline Is Moving Back

Another proposal that passed this session will move the trade deadline back by a week, to the Tuesday after Week 9. Moving the trade deadline back, in theory, should promote more trade activity because teams in similar situations might be incentivized to make moves, but the change this year comes with interesting timing. The Tuesday after Week 9 is Election Day: Tuesday, November 5.

The strange part is this has actually happened before. In 2020, Election Day was also the same day as the trade deadline—or I guess the other way around.

What a day for cable television.

Antonio Pierce Gives a Good Quote

Listen to how Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce describes his leadership style:

“I’m the guardian at the gate. Not letting any evil into that building,” Pierce said.

I’ll let resident Ringer Raiders fan Austin Gayle chime in on this:

Is That Dak’s Passing Chart?

Jerry Jones, as he often does, spoke to reporters in Orlando on Monday. While he had updates on the Cowboys’ free agency spending and Dak Prescott’s contract status, something else stood out.

Look, sometimes you’ve just got to doodle.

Speaking Of Dak…

Because his contract includes a no-tag clause, it’s seemed more and more likely that Dak Prescott is headed for free agency in 2025, as he has not reached an extension agreement with the Cowboys this offseason. The way Jones described it, the two sides aren’t even really trying to work one out.

“We are where we are, locked and loaded for this year,” Jones said.

This is where this has been building, but it’s still worth underlining: Prescott is setting himself up to hit the free agent market next season, where he’d likely get a contract worth north of $55 million per year. This would happen a year after his salary cap hit for Dallas was over $60 million. And the Cowboys are setting themselves up to get nothing but a compensatory pick in return.

The J.J. McCarthy Hype Is Real and Spectacular

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been getting a lot of buzz lately, and it reached a fever pitch during the meetings. Listen to these quotes!

“You’re talking about a national champ, a winner,” Antonio Pierce said. “So I don’t know how he’s not in the top three, if you want to be honest.”

Jim Harbaugh, McCarthy’s coach in college and now the Chargers head coach, said McCarthy had “the best [pro day] I’ve ever seen.”

“I mean, not only were his feet great in the individual drills, but then he started throwing it,” Harbaugh gushed.

Yes, he did drills and threw a football! Revolutionary! Harbaugh also said that decision makers from many teams were coming up to him unsolicited at the meetings to compliment his work with McCarthy. In case you were wondering.

Tom Brady Still Doesn’t Own the Raiders

Tom Brady has been trying to purchase a minority ownership stake in the Raiders for over a year, and the league is apparently making him work for it! According to Goodell, it has still not gone through.

“We go through a very thorough process on all ownership transfers. So we’re just going through that process. We’ve been in touch with their side and the Raiders,” Goodell said Tuesday. “I think it’s making progress.”

Not … Calvin Ridley’s Girlfriend Catching Strays

The Patriots were in the running to sign Calvin Ridley as a free agent before the standout wide receiver went to the Titans. It’s one of a few missed opportunities for a team that hasn’t added much firepower so far this offseason after top personnel executive Eliot Wolf spoke at the combine of wanting to “weaponize” the offense. In Orlando, team owner Robert Kraft explained what happened with Ridley.

Kraft mentioned that the lack of clarity at quarterback was also a factor. Seems like that might have been the bigger deal here, but that’s just me!