The 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting begins later this month in Arizona, which means multiple rule proposals have been added to the docket.
The NFL announced Tuesday that the league's Competition Committee has submitted five playing rule proposals to be voted upon.
The first is to permit the kicking team to declare an onside kick at any time during the game. The rule currently states this is only allowed in the fourth quarter.
The second proposals is to eliminate the kicking team's incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line. The current rule stipulates that an out-of-bounds kickoff from the 50 means the ball is placed at the 25-yard line. The new rule would put the ball at the 20.
The Competition Committee also proposed to modify the kickoff alignment requirements for the receiving team players in the setup zone. This would potentially put an extra player in the setup zone, with the Competition Committee citing player safety as the main reason for the proposal.
Additionally, the Competition Committee has proposed to allow NFL personnel to consult with on-field officials when considering disqualifications for both flagrant football acts and non-football acts without being called on the field. In other words, the NFL would have an added say in whether or not players get ejected from a game.
Finally, a proposal has been submitted for one year only to allow the NFL Officiating Department to correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials that impact the game. This would only occur if there is a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association.
The Competition Committee also submitted three bylaw proposals to consider:
— Permits the League office to adjust the procedures and related dates and deadlines for the final roster reduction to accommodate an international game scheduled in the first week of the regular season.
— Establish the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend as business days to provide clubs with personnel notices during the first weekend after the roster reduction.
— Permit players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform to begin a 21-day practice period after the club's second game of the regular season.
Last week, a pair of other proposals have been submitted by Pittsburgh and Cleveland, respectively.
The Steelers have proposed keeping a rule that was recently implemented where teams could have a video or phone call with up to five prospective unrestricted free agents during the legal tampering period.
This allowed teams earlier this month to make travel arrangements with such players upon agreeing to terms on a new contract.
Pittsburgh cited competitive fairness in its proposal submission.
Additionally, the Browns have proposed a rule that would allow draft selections to be traded up to five seasons in the future.
The current rule stipulates that draft picks can be traded up to three years into the future, but Cleveland wrote in its proposal that extending this timespan would give teams "greater roster-building flexibility by expanding the range of future draft assets available for trade."
All proposals must be approved by 75 percent (24) of the clubs to be adopted.
The 2026 Annual League Meeting will take place March 29 to April 1 in Phoenix.
