Roger

Goodell

It is “officially official,” as some reporters would say. The Commanders are currently in the midst of trying to finalize an agreement with the city to build a new stadium at the old RFK Stadium site, so perhaps this is an olive branch from the NFL to the city council. Next year’s draft will take place in Pittsburgh.

The NFL was reportedly scouting D.C. as a potential draft weekend locale as early as last May, so this announcement has been in the works for quite some time. Just one week ago, ESPN’s John Keim also reported that the Commanders have struck a deal to build a new stadium on the old RFK Stadium site, with the goal of hosting Commanders home games there by 2030. Washington is making its presence felt in the football world.

The plan is for the league to move to Christmas Day games every year for the foreseeable future, per Goodell. While he did acknowledge that games would not be played if Christmas fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday. The NFL has already cornered the Thanksgiving Day market and worked in Black Friday games in recent years, and featured two or three Christmas Day games in each of the last four seasons. While the Chiefs have expressed interest in becoming the face of Christmas games like the Lions and Cowboys are for Thanksgiving, Goodell said, “I think we’ll continue to rotate” the teams that play on Christmas.

In other words, the postseason format is coming to the regular season, guaranteeing both sides a chance to possess the ball once. Overtimes will remain 10 minutes in the regular season. NFL owners also approved bringing Sony’s Hawk-Eye technology to spot the ball in 2025, expanding instant replay assist, bringing touchbacks up to the 35-yard-line, and (on a trial basis) allowing free agents more contact with teams during the Two-Day Negotiation Period. These rule changes all seem broadly good for the game, though it remains to be seen how tedious instant replay will become in 2025 with even more expanded opportunities.

The rule tweak means NFL replay officials can now reverse flags thrown for hits to defenseless players, along with facemask penalties, horse collar penalties, tripping, and running into/roughing the kicker, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. The change will not allow officials to apply a penalty when one has clearly occurred on the field.

Per Robinson’s report, “multiple league and player’s union sources” say that Goodell and the owners are expected to “make more assertive efforts” this summer to add an 18th game to the schedule. Robinson also indicates that team owners would like to opt out of the leagues’ domestic media right contracts, “which Goodell and the owners believe are underpriced.” The contracts are not set to expire until 2029, though. Opting out of the contracts before cementing an 18-game schedule would create more problems for the owners down the road, which may provide the NFL players’ union with leverage, as time is on the latter party’s side. The players reportedly wish to increase their split of league revenue from 48.0 percent to an even 50-50, which could play a role in negotiations.

The proposal would move the spot of touchbacks from the 30-to the 35-yard line in hopes of increasing the rate of returns. The league boosted its kickoff return rate from 21.8 percent in 2023 to 32.8 percent in 2024 by introducing the dynamic kickoff last season. It still was the second-lowest return rate in NFL history as only 21.5 percent kicks landed in the 20-yard landing zone. Any proposed rules changes require the approval of 24 owners. The league’s annual meetings will be held next week in Palm Beach, Florida.

The proposal is to give “both teams the opportunity to possess the ball regardless of the outcome of the first possession, subject to a 15-minute overtime period in the regular season.” The current rule for the regular season has a 10-minute overtime period where both teams must possess the ball, unless the team receiving the opening kickoff scores a touchdown on its initial possession. There were 16 overtime games during the 2024 regular season, and none in the playoffs.

This marks the fourth-straight season that the league has increased the cap number after it fell to $182.5 million in 2021 following a COVID-stricken 2020 season. The $279.2 million ceiling also sets a new league record for the fourth-straight season, and will raise every team’s cap space for the upcoming season once adjustments for the approved amount take effect.

Previously, referees would measure the first down line-to-gain using a chain measurement. Now, the NFL is instituting a Hawk-Eye virtual measurement to measure if a ball crossed the first down line. The chain gang will remain as a backup. This is a big response to the yearly criticism that manual chains can be inaccurate and take a long time to measure. The 2025 regular season is the first time the virtual measurement will be used.