NFL Owners to Discuss Backup Referees, Kickoff Changes at Annual Meeting

NFL team owners, executives and coaches will gather in Arizona this week to address several key issues including contingency plans for replacement officials and modifications to kickoff rules. The league's current agreement with referees expires May 31, prompting discussions about backup plans similar to those used in 2012.

National Football League team owners, executives and coaching staff will convene in Arizona this week for their yearly conference, where they’ll address numerous significant matters including backup referee plans, rule modifications, technology advances, player safety concerns, global expansion efforts and flag football initiatives.

Notably absent from this year’s agenda is the controversial “tush push” play that sparked heated debate twelve months ago, as no formal proposal exists to ban the strategy despite it nearly being eliminated in a narrow 2025 vote.

The meeting schedule includes NFC coaching staff addressing media on Monday, followed by AFC coaches on Tuesday, with Commissioner Roger Goodell providing closing remarks.

The most substantial proposal from the NFL competition committee involves backup plans should the league need substitute officials during a potential work dispute, similar to what occurred at the beginning of the 2012 campaign. The existing labor contract between the NFL and NFL Referees Association concludes on May 31.

Under this proposal, the replay headquarters in New York would gain authority to guide field officials regarding overlooked roughing the passer violations, intentional grounding infractions, and any actions warranting ejection if penalties had been assessed.

The NFL’s deployment of substitute officials during 2012’s opening three weeks led to numerous errors and incorrect decisions, most notably the controversial touchdown reception dubbed the “Fail Mary.”

“The negotiations with the officials have not gone as quickly as we would have wanted,” stated NFL executive Jeff Miller. “We’ve made a number of proposals. We’re looking to improve the accountability and performance of the officials, and we just haven’t gotten to where we need to go. So, we’re going to play football this fall, and we’re going to need officials to do it. So, this is part of the preparation, and we felt compelled to make these sorts of decisions in anticipation of playing football in a different environment.”

Multiple minor adjustments are being considered for the dynamic kickoff regulation now entering its third year of implementation.

“In 2024, we had 920 returns, and we had 25,000 return yards. In 2025, we had 2,076 returns, and we had 53,869 yards,” explained Rich McKay, Atlanta Falcons CEO and Competition Committee Chair. “So that’s just a crazy change in the game, one that we’ve worked on for a long time. It’s a credit to the special teams coaches who’ve gotten together and really helped influence where we are on that play. It’s a credit to our head coaches for being able to be flexible enough to adopt and adapt, I should say, to the play. So, it’s a really good story.”

“But we won’t just leave it alone. This year, we’re going to propose that we allow the 5-4-2 alignment. … That really was the original alignment the special teams coaches wanted, but we were just taking our time and kind of being a little conservative, if you will, in how we allowed the alignment change. So, that’s kind of our process and how we got to where we are,” McKay continued.

The organization has welcomed technological innovations and artificial intelligence developments, incorporating microchips into footballs and utilizing virtual measurement systems for first-down determinations.

“The ability to use any modern technologies in media to advance the game on the field or with our fans, especially internationally, is coming at a really important time for the league’s growth,” Miller noted.

The NFL plans nine international contests this season, featuring inaugural regular-season games in France and Australia. League officials aim to eventually conduct 16 overseas games annually.

“It’s an incredibly important area of our business and growth and takes up a good amount of time during these meetings,” Miller commented.

Kickoff-related concussions increased to 35 in 2025 from eight in 2024, primarily due to moving the touchback position to the 35-yard line, which generated 1,157 additional returns. The return percentage surged to 74% from 33% the previous season, marking the highest return rate in fifteen years. However, the overall injury rate remains lower than previous kickoff formats, when coverage teams had running starts versus the current standing start requirement.

“The goal was to have a fewer, lower injury rate on that play, and to make it seem more like a play from scrimmage, which has been accomplished by and large,” Miller stated. “But we always knew that we were going to revisit this play as soon as we had more data on it, and with an almost 75% return rate this year, we have a whole lot of plays that we’ve been working through and a lot of people and we’ve been working really diligently on this because we think the results are heading into a really good direction. But we do need to address the injuries that we saw to the returner and to the tackler this year.”