NFL stars and Hall of Famers intrigued by ‘nightmare’ rule change that could shake up league

Jul 20, 2026 - 14:45

The 3-point shot forever changed the NBA.

A four-point play could shake up the NFL and give football coaches across the league another huge in-game decision to make.

The NFL can make an NBA-like rule change to field goals

“Heck yeah, man. Let’s go,” Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said in an ESPN story. “Up the ante a little bit.”

There’s no current push for the NFL to implent a four-point play.

But with field-goal kickers turning new rules into monster kicks, there could eventually be a push to give an extra point for offensive creativity.

“I think that’d be kind of cool,” Washington Commanders kicker Jake Moody said. “Why not? It’s like basketball, they got the 3-pointer.

“I feel like there’d be a lot more attempts, for sure. So you probably practice your longer range, 60-plus kicks a lot more.”

The four-point idea is currently being used by the spring football UFL.

The league saw an increase in 60-yard field goals after introducing the four-point rule, with kickers going 8 of 14 overall (57.1 percent) and 4 of 4 in the playoffs.

NFL kickers made 12 of 22 field-goal attempts last season on kicks of 60 yards or more.

Jaguars kicker Cam Little set an NFL record with a successful 68-yard field goal vs the Las Vegas Raiders during the 2025 season and kicked a 67-yarder outdoors vs the Tennessee Titans.

Little also blasted a 70-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason.

Cam Little could be kicking for four points on 60-yard field goals

Adam Vinatieri will enter the Hall of Fame as a kicker

Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates is a fan of the four-point idea.

“It’d be nice,” Bates said. “I know it’s cool for the UFL guys to get that because it makes it worth sending them out there for, and I think a lot of guys showed they can make it so it’s cool to watch.”

But NFL kickers aren’t united 100 percent, and there are downsides to awarding four points for a successful kick of 60 yards or more.

“I think it’s a little weird,” said Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who’s made six field goals of at least 60 yards.

“Kind of incentivizes you to stall the drive in a certain spot. It makes you really, really question your playcalling around that 50-yard line area. It’s interesting for kickers that have the leg to get it there, maybe (there’s) a little bit more value there. But kind of perverses the incentives of football where the goal is to get it as close to the other person’s half as possible.

“So, I’m conflicted on it. I like it for the kickers. I think it’s a nightmare for the playcallers.”

A four-point play would change how NFL games are played

Thanks to Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry and the saturation of the 3-point shot, the NBA has considered awarding four points for long-range 3s.

The NFL currently awards one point for a kicked extra point, two points for a safety or extra-point conversion, three points for a field goal and six points for a TD.

“I think it’s actually a really good idea, to be honest with you,” said former New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, who will soon be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I played one season in the NFL Europe and anything outside of a 50-yarder was worth four points. … It will definitely change the philosophy of teams and their analytics, and what they want to do. Guys are really hitting long field goals and being really prolific at it right now. So I like it. I think it’s pretty awesome.”

The big questions are what the NFL thinks and whether a four-point play could eventually become reality.