
By Matt Godbee
10:21 AM EST on February 24, 2026
The NFL competition committee is back in the lab, tackling pressing league matters — like deciding which corner of the globe will host a football game next season or defining the legality of butt-pushing. You see it's experimental season in the NFL, where ideas are introduced and occasionally set on fire.
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The last concept to combust was the “Dynamic Kickoff.” It’s hardly dynamic — unless you count collective misunderstanding — though it is supposedly safer. For the players on the field, that is. Not from judgement.
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The latest point of emphasis is fixing the onside kick. As currently constructed, you’re more likely to get struck by lightning in a hot air balloon than recover one. The league hates plays with predictable outcomes — which is why the extra point was pushed back 13 yards. The onside kick, meanwhile, feels like it was designed during the Roosevelt administration--back when football was played on churned-up cattle pastures.
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One proposal gaining traction originates from the Alliance of American Football — the now-defunct post–Super Bowl Spring football league: a single 4th-and-15 conversion to retain possession. The play is unconventional, and any rollout would likely be painful at first. But it would almost certainly fare better than the 92% failure rate the onside kick currently offers.
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Any change will require 75% approval from the Yacht Club, so nothing is guaranteed. But even if the onside kick survives another year, there’s still a great chance the Jaguars end up hosting a home game in Iceland.

