The NFL's general managers posed for a team picture Monday during the owners meetings in Phoenix.
The NFL's general managers posed for a team picture Monday during the owners meetings in Phoenix.Mark Peterman/Associated Press
PHOENIX — In many years, the NFL owners meetings are the forum for significant changes to the sport, whether it’s heated debates over the Tush Push and instant replay or structural changes such as a 17-game season or a personal conduct policy for players.
This was not one of those years.
The NFL wrapped up three days of meetings Tuesday, approving only a handful of small rule changes and announcing but a few modest business developments.
“Less debate and a little more discussion about the state of the game, which is very good,” said Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL’s competition committee.
Here’s a quick look at the biggest developments from the meetings:
▪ The owners approved a rather boring set of new rules and bylaws. Teams can now use a 5-4-2 alignment on kickoff returns, rather than a 6-3-2. Both teams can now declare for an onside kick at any point in the game, instead of only the trailing team. The instant replay officials in New York City can now throw a 15-yard penalty flag or eject a player who commits flagrant non-football acts which are missed by on-field officials.
They closed a loophole, with a touchback on a kickoff from midfield now coming out to the 20 yard line instead of the 35. And players who begin the season on the non-football jnjury or physically inable to perform lists can start practicing after two weeks, down from four, though they still have to sit out at least four games.
▪ The only interesting rule proposals on the docket this year ultimately got scrapped before the owners held a vote, due to lack of support. One was the Browns’ proposal to allow teams to trade five years of draft picks instead of three. The other was the Rams’ proposal to correct the 2-point conversion attempt that the Seahawks unwittingly converted against the Rams in Week 16. The Rams believe the Seahawks shouldn’t have been rewarded with a conversion on a play that looked like a batted pass, but Sean McVay realized that changing the rule was a lot more complicated than expected.
“That is a play that, even if it benefited us, I don’t think should have been rewarded,” McVay said. But “if I feel like I’m putting a Rubik’s Cube together, this is probably too complex.”
▪ The NFL passed a rule accounting for the possibility of using replacement officials this fall, with their labor agreement with the NFL Referees Association set to expire May 31 and the sides far apart.
Should the NFL use replacements from small college football, the instant replay officials in New York will now have far greater discretion to correct calls on the field, including calling penalties remotely, which the league has long avoided. In such a case, the NFL will move more employees into the New York replay studio on Sundays to help with decisions.
“The [replacement] officials will not be accustomed to making those calls — they do not have illegal contact in college football, it’s a big part of our game,” McKay said. “We want a chance to make sure that they’ve got it right.”
▪ To make the “replay assist” process more transparent in 2026, referees will be instructed to explicitly announce when replay assist is used to change a call.
▪ The NFL has had to practically strong-arm teams to participate in “Hard Knocks” over the last several years, yet now has booked it two years out, with the Seahawks (2026) and Patriots (2027) both eagerly raising their hands.
The Patriots’ sudden interest is surely related to the opening of their new performance center this spring, after years of poor grades for their football facilities. Mike Vrabel is ecstatic about the size of the new facility.
“We’re going to get our steps in,” he said.
▪ The NFL announced it has partnered with TMRW Sports, developer of the TGL golf league, to develop professional leagues for men’s and women’s flag football. But the NFL also got several heavy-hitters to sign on as investors, including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Eli Manning, and other football stars, plus Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, and more. The 32 NFL owners will also contribute $1 million each.
The NFL estimates that more than 20 million people play flag football across 100 countries, and the sport will debut in the Olympics in 2028.
“Flag is fundamental for our overall international strategy as well as our league strategy, growing the game, access to the sport for girls and boys,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said.
▪ The NFL announced it will not hold doubleheaders on “Monday Night Football” in 2026, and instead will take the five extra games in its inventory and sell them as a package of standalone games that could include Thanksgiving Eve, a Sunday morning game in Europe, and others.
▪ The NFL will hold a record nine international games in 2026, and announced Italy as its latest international marketing country, with the Browns and Saints grabbing first rights. The NFL is expecting more than 100,000 fans at Melbourne Cricket Grounds for the first time in Australia, a Week 1 game featuring the 49ers and Rams.
▪ The owners approved the Raiders’ succession plan to give technology investor Egon Durban the first option to buy Mark Davis’s majority share of the team. They also approved the transfer of partial Giants ownership from Steve, Jonathan, and Laurie Tisch to their children, related to Steve Tisch’s myriad appearances in the Epstein Files.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.