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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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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