Fair catches on NFL kickoffs to now be spotted at 25-yard line - ESPN

EAGAN, Minn. — NFL owners took what might be their final step Tuesday toward decreasing injuries on kickoffs before considering a more dramatic set of changes, approving a rule that will incentivize fair catches on balls fielded outside of the end zone.

This season, a fair catch on a kickoff will be placed at the 25-yard line regardless of where it is fielded. The proposal is designed to counteract a recent increase in «pop-up» kickoffs that some teams use to pin the returning team deep in their own territory.

Concussion rates on kickoffs have surged over the past two seasons, to nearly twice as high as the average offensive or defensive play, despite a series of previous tweaks to its format that have resulted in touchbacks on roughly 60% of kickoffs on an annual basis. According to Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL's competition committee, most of that surge can be traced to an increase in returns caused by pop-up kicks.

Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said the league estimates returns will drop from 38% to 31% as a result of the fair catch incentive. In exchange, the hope is that concussions on kickoffs drop by 15%.

«We can't stand by and do nothing,» Miller said. «While these changes are going to affect the kickoff rate modestly, they will decrease the concussion rate. Sitting still and continuing to do nothing was unacceptable. That's where the membership came down on this.»

The average return on kicks fielded outside of the end zone last season went to the 24.3-yard line, McKay said, so the fair catch will only give teams an advantage of 0.7 yards on average. But after years of tweaks designed to reduce the return rate, McKay suggested the play is due for