Key takeaways
- Under the 2026 rules, the kicker kicks from his own 35 while his ten teammates stand still on the receiving team's 40, and at least nine receivers set up between their own 35 and 30.
- Where the ball first lands decides the outcome: short of the receiving 20 gives the receiver the ball 25 yards from the kick, a ball that lands in the end zone on the fly and is downed comes out to the 35, and one that lands inside the 20 and then reaches the end zone comes out only to the 20.
- For 2026, any touchback on a kickoff from the 50 is spotted at the 20, which removes the old reason to kick deliberately out of bounds after a penalty.
- Onside kicks can now be declared at any time by any team, but they must be declared to the referee first, so they are never a surprise.
- Kickoff rules changed in 2024, 2025 and 2026, so always check which season a rule summary describes.
As of the 2026 NFL season, a kickoff is a set piece rather than a sprint. The kicker kicks from his own 35-yard line, his ten teammates stand still on the receiving team's 40, and at least nine receiving players set up between their own 35 and 30. Nobody except the kicker and up to two deep returners moves until the ball touches the ground or a player inside the receiving 20 or in the end zone. Where the ball first lands then decides almost everything, including where a touchback is spotted.
The format arrived as a one-year trial in 2024, was made permanent in 2025, and changed again for 2026. Every rule below is taken from the league's 2026 rulebook unless a different season is named.
The kickoff, step by step
1. The kicking team sets. The kicker's restraining line is his own 35 for a kickoff (his 20 for a safety kick), unless a distance penalty moves it. The other ten kicking players line up with their front foot on the receiving team's 40-yard line, and both feet must stay on the ground. A tee is allowed, and so is a designated holder, who may be a twelfth person on the field but must leave immediately after the kick.
2. The receiving team sets. The 2026 alignment requirements are specific:
- at least nine players in the setup zone, the five yards between the receiving team's 35 and 30;
- at least five of them with a front foot on the 35 (six if the team puts more than nine in the zone);
- no more than four setup-zone players off the 35, and never more than two in each of the three areas between the sidelines and hash marks;
- at least three of the setup-zone players outside the hash marks on each side of the field;
- anyone outside the setup zone, in practice the returners, must stay behind the 20 until the ball is kicked and behind the 30 until the ball lands or is touched in the landing zone or end zone.
3. The kick. Everyone except the kicker and the returners waits. Kicking players and setup-zone players must keep both feet on the ground until the ball touches the ground or a player in the landing zone (the receiving 20 to the goal line) or the end zone. After the kick, the kicker cannot cross the vicinity of the 50 until that happens either.
4. The collision. Until the ball hits or is touched in the landing zone or end zone, no receiving player may initiate a block. Double-team blocks are allowed only by players who started in the setup zone, and wedge blocks, two or more players shoulder to shoulder moving forward together, are banned outright. Either foul costs 15 yards.
The intent behind all of this is spelled out in the 2025 rule that made the format permanent: the kickoff is designed to "resemble a typical scrimmage play by aligning players on both teams closer together and restricting movement to reduce space and speed" and to "promote more returns."
Where the ball lands, and what each outcome is worth
| Where the kick ends up | Result | Receiving team starts at |
|---|---|---|
| First touches the ground or a player short of the receiving 20 | Foul on the kicking team | 25 yards from the spot of the kick, its own 40 after a kick from the 35 |
| Kicked out of bounds | Foul on the kicking team | Same option as above |
| Lands in the landing zone and is returned | Live ball | Wherever the return ends |
| Lands in the landing zone, then goes into the end zone and is downed or goes out the back | Touchback | Its own 20 |
| Reaches the end zone on the fly and is downed there, goes out the back on the fly, or hits the goal post | Touchback | Its own 35 |
| Any touchback on a kickoff from the 50 | Touchback (new for 2026) | Its own 20 |
A kick into the end zone that stays inbounds is still a live ball: the receiving team must return it or down it. A ball that comes to rest in the landing zone with no one trying to recover it is dead and belongs to the receiving team where it stopped.
One timing detail matters late in halves. The game clock starts after a kickoff only when the ball is legally touched in the field of play, so a touchback uses no time at all. Clock management in the final two minutes covers why that kind of rule decides close games.
Why the touchback spots are not the same
The two touchback spots are a deliberate incentive. A kicker who clears the end zone concedes the 35. One who drops the ball into the landing zone either forces a return or, if it bounces into the end zone, gives up only the 20. When the league moved the deep touchback from the 30 to the 35 for 2025, NFL.com summarised the aim: by improving field position on those touchbacks, "the league hopes teams will be deterred from kicking the ball into the end zone." The same report credited the 2024 trial with 332 more kickoff returns than before, lifting the return rate from 21.8 percent to 32.8 percent.
The 2026 change closes a loophole that comes straight out of the arithmetic. Suppose a 15-yard penalty moves the kickoff to the 50. A kick out of bounds then gives the receiving team the ball 25 yards from the spot of the kick, which is its own 25. Under the 2025 rule, a touchback from that spot came out to the 35, so kicking out of bounds was the better result for the kicking team. For 2026, a touchback on any kickoff from the 50 is spotted at the 20, five yards worse for the receiver than the out-of-bounds result. The league described the purpose plainly: to "eliminate the kicking team's incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line."
Onside kicks under the 2026 rules
An onside kick is no longer a surprise play. The kicking team must declare it by telling the referee before the play clock starts, and the referee tells the receiving team. What changed for 2026 is who may do it: the rule now reads "at any time during the game", for any team, leading or trailing.
The setup is different from a normal kickoff:
- the kicking team lines up on its own 35, with no more than five players on either side of the ball;
- the receiving team's restraining line is 10 yards ahead, and eight or nine receivers must stand between that line and a point 15 yards behind it, the onside kick setup zone;
- the kicking team may touch or recover the ball once it reaches the receivers' restraining line or touches a receiving player; touching it earlier is a foul;
- if the ball goes untouched beyond the onside kick setup zone, it is an unsportsmanlike conduct foul: 15 yards from the kicking team's restraining line, and the receiving team takes possession.
The decision itself is a straight trade. A recovery keeps the ball; a failure hands the opponent short field position. Being allowed to declare one while ahead does not change that trade, it only makes it available in more situations.
The fair catch and the fair catch kick
A returner may still signal for and make a fair catch of a kickoff that has not touched the ground. The ball is then dead, and the receiving team has an unusual option: instead of snapping, it may try a fair catch kick, a drop kick or a place kick without a tee from the spot of the catch. The rules for a field goal attempt apply, the defense lines up 10 yards away, and a successful kick is worth three points.
What changed, season by season
| Season | Status | Deep touchback (landed in end zone) | Onside kick allowed | Receiving alignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | One-year trial, "subject to renewal in 2025" | 30-yard line | Fourth quarter onward, trailing team, declared | Setup zone between the 35 and 30; up to two returners |
| 2025 | Made permanent | 35-yard line | Any time, trailing team, declared | At least six on the 35 (seven if more than nine in the zone); at most three off the line |
| 2026 | Current | 35-yard line; 20 after any kickoff from the 50 | Any time, any team, declared | At least five on the 35 (six if more than nine in the zone); up to four off the line, two per area |
In every season of the format, a ball that landed in the landing zone and was then downed in the end zone has come out to the 20. The 2024 details come from NFL.com's report of the original vote; 2025 and 2026 come from the rulebooks and the league's approved-rules summaries.
Where kickoffs meet a quarterback sim
Football Career Sim 2026 puts you in a single fictional quarterback's career, so kickoffs are someone else's job. What matters to a quarterback is where the drive starts: the game's drives resolve with downs, distance, field position, turnovers, timeouts and clock management. In real terms, a drive that begins on the 35 instead of the 20 has fifteen fewer yards to cover before the red-zone decisions start.
If you would rather build the roster than play behind centre, special teams are a unit like any other: football positions explained covers who does what on kicks, and the football draft simulator guide explains why the weakest unit, not the strongest, tends to decide a simulated season. For more on the sport itself, see our American football page, and the full set of management and career titles is under sports GM games.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Where is the ball placed after a kickoff touchback in 2026?
Can a team try an onside kick at any time?
What is the landing zone on an NFL kickoff?
What happens if a kickoff lands short of the landing zone?
What is a fair catch kick?
Sources
- 2026 NFL Rulebook (Official Playing Rules of the National Football League) (opens in a new tab)NFL Football Operations — accessed
- 2025 Official Playing Rules of the National Football League (PDF) (opens in a new tab)National Football League — accessed
- Approved 2026 Playing Rules, Bylaws and Resolutions (opens in a new tab)NFL Communications — accessed
- Approved 2025 Playing Rules, Bylaws and Resolutions (opens in a new tab)NFL Communications — accessed
- Featured Rules (opens in a new tab)NFL Football Operations — accessed
- NFL owners pass new hybrid kickoff rule at Annual League Meeting (opens in a new tab)NFL.com — accessed
- NFL owners vote to adjust ball spot on touchbacks to 35-yard line on dynamic kickoffs (opens in a new tab)NFL.com — accessed
League, team and athlete names appear here only to identify the rules, records and history being discussed. Reign Creative LLC's sports games are not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any league, team, players' association or athlete, and all names and marks belong to their owners.
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