The NFL’s 4 new rules changes for 2026, including onside kick modifications

The 2026 NFL season is right around the corner.

And a new year brings some new rules to the league.

Here are the major rule changes that you need to know ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

Onside kick declarations

The first rule change tweaks NFL Rule 6, Section 1, Article 6, regarding onside kicks.

When the NFL changed the kickoff rules for the 2024 season, shifting to the “dynamic kickoff” alignment in an effort to reduce high-speed collisions and improve player safety, the league needed to address onside kicks. With the change in alignment for kickoffs, the league decided to change how onside kicks would be implemented, with teams now required to “declare” an onside kick.

In the first year of the dynamic kickoff, teams could only declare an onside kick attempt if they were trailing in the fourth quarter. Last season, the NFL amended that rule to allow a trailing team to declare an onside kick attempt at any time in the game.

For the 2026 season, teams can now declare an onside kick at any time during the game, whether they are losing, or winning.

The onside kick success rate remains low, however. Fewer than 8% of onside kicks have been recovered by the kicking team since the new dynamic kickoff was introduced. That has led to discussions about alternatives to the onside kick, such as a potential fourth-and-long play that the “kicking” team would need to convert to retain possession.

Disqualification reviews

The next NFL rule change involves Rule 19, Section 2.

This change allowed “league personnel” to consult with on-field officials when considering the potential disqualification of a player for both flagrant football — and non-football — acts. Importantly, this rule allows for such a consultation even when a penalty is not called on the field.

The rule now reads:

The Replay Official and designated members of the Officiating department at the League office may consult with the on-field officials to provide objective information regarding on-field rulings and the correct application of playing rules. In addition, if the designated members of the Officiating department determine that a foul for a football or non-football act called on the field is flagrant, then they can instruct the on-field officiating crew to disqualify the player(s) who committed the foul.

For actions not called on the field, if designated members of the Officiating department determine, prior to the next legal snap or kick, that such action is flagrant, they may consult with the on-field officials regarding a potential disqualification of the offending player(s).

Those players who were not penalized, but who engaged in football or non-football acts that were determined to be flagrant and directly related to the foul called on the field, may also be disqualified by designated members of the Officiating department. A penalty will be assessed when a player was not penalized by on-field officials but was subsequently disqualified pursuant to this Section. The determination that a foul is flagrant must be based on the available video, and the designated members of the Officiating department must instruct the officiating crew to disqualify the identified player(s) before the ball is next legally put in play.

Kickoff alignments

We return to Rule 6 for the next change, specifically Rule 6, Section 1, Article 3. This involves the alignment of players during the dynamic kickoff.

Under this change, the receiving team now only has to place a minimum of five players lined up with “their front foot on the restraining line.” Under the previous version of Rule 6, Section 1, Article 3, six players were required to be on the line.

In addition, while the previous version of the rule allowed only three players to align in the “setup zone,” now four are permitted. However, teams cannot cluster those four players in front of the returners, as at least one will have to align between the sideline and the “in-bounds line” on either side of the field.

Both the kicking team and the receiving team have a restraining line. For the kicking team it is the receiving team’s 40-yard line, and for the receiving team it is their 35-yard line. The setup zone for the receiving team is the five-yard area between the receiving team’s 35-yard line, and its 30-yard line.

Kickoffs following a penalty

The NFL also closed a loophole that some teams were using on kickoffs.

Last year, several teams that were kicking off from the 50-yard line, following a personal conduct penalty on the opposing team on the previous play, simply chose to kick the ball out of bounds. The reason? A touchback would place the ball at the 30-yard line, while kicking the ball out of bounds would place the ball at the 25-yard line. That’s because the penalty for a kickoff that travels out of bounds is to place the ball 25 yards from where the ball was kicked.

Now, all touchbacks are placed at the 20-yard line, and when a kickoff comes from the 50-yard line due to a penalty, an out-of-bounds kick will result in the ball being placed on the 40-yard line, the same as with a normal kickoff.