More instant replay on the way? Lasers determining first downs? Get ready NFL fans.
NFL referees will be using more instant replay this season, along with Hawk-Eye technology rendering the chain gang relatively obsolete. Change might be hard for some fans, but rule changes will have a big impact on how the game is officiated for the 2025 season.
Perhaps most importantly, overtime rules have been updated – so both teams will get at least one possession.
Let’s break down the biggest rule changes ahead of the 2025 season.
Updated Celebration Rules
The biggest change that fans will notice this season in the NFL right away is going to be no weapons allowed on the field in terms of celebrations. This new rule will be enforced early and often.
There will be no shooting a fake gun. You cannot brandish your fake weapon. You also cannot act like you are carrying one on your person.
This sounds pretty clear and straightforward, but in terms of actually enforcing those rules, it’s not going to be easy off the bat.
Enforcement will come down to how officials interpret celebrations at the start. It might look like the players are pointing two fingers on each hand down the field, but it takes one official to think they were simulating a gun for a flag to be thrown — and with that a 15-yard penalty to be enforced.
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Early in the season, officials are more likely to throw a flag if they think it’s even close. If the officials think a player was simulating shooting a gun or even holding one, they’re not going to go up to the player and ask him what he meant with the celebration. They’re likely going to throw the flag to make it clear that this is a priority.
I do think officials will be more lenient as the season progresses. There might be some rocky moments, but there will definitely be an adjustment period for everybody involved.
Hawk-Eye Technology: Bye Bye, Chain Gang
Some of the best athletes on the field are going to be much less important this season. That’s right, we’re talking about the chain gang.
The older guys trotting out on the field with the stakes and yard markers to make some of the biggest decisions in every NFL game will be making way for new technology that will help measure the football and determine whether teams have achieved a first down.
Hawk-Eye technology has been used across sports, most notably soccer and tennis. On the pitch, technology has been used to determine whether a ball crosses the line and should be a goal. In tennis, the reviews are great.
How will it work? Well, instead of the referee blowing dead and calling for a measurement, there will be lasers all over the field that will be able to determine whether the offense achieved a first down much quicker than that process.
The reveal of whether the first down was achieved will be shown on the scoreboard for everyone in the stadium to find out the result at the same time. The reaction will be great and should be a good addition to the game.
One key here is that the referees’ job is just to place the ball and then let the technology take over. Their placement of the ball, though, will not be adjusted. All we’re going to get is a yes or no answer to whether a first down was achieved by the offensive team. The ball will not be moved.
New NFL Overtime Rules
You know what I like? When NFL rules are the same in the regular season and the playoffs.
Well, that’s now the case with overtime. Now, both teams should get possession of the ball before we have a final result.
Overtime has come a long way in the NFL. At the start of the century, it was pretty easy for a team to win the game in overtime if it won the coin toss. All the team needed to do from there was go down the field far enough to kick a field goal. If the kick was good, the game was over and the losing team was out of luck.
The first big change was when the type of scoring play required to win the game was adjusted. Instead of a field goal on the first possession of overtime getting the job done, only a touchdown on the first possession would end the game without the other team also getting the ball. If the team that got the ball first only kicked a field goal, the other team would get a chance to answer. If that team also kicked a field goal, the next score won the game.
The new rule change is actually something we have seen before and is only new to the regular season.
When the Chiefs and 49ers went to overtime in Super Bowl 58, Kansas City was famously very excited when San Francisco elected to receive the kickoff. That’s because these rule changes came into effect just for that game, and most 49ers players weren’t aware of it.
Super Bowl 58 was the first game that used the overtime rules which will go into effect this season. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
Both teams are now guaranteed to get at least one possession in overtime. If the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown, that will not end the game. The opposing team will still get a chance to respond.
That is how that Super Bowl went down. There is one noteworthy change from that game, though.
Overtime periods in the regular season will remain 10 minutes. In the Super Bowl, the game went beyond the initial 10-minute overtime period.
In the regular season, the game will not go beyond that 10-minute period. The game will end in a tie if there is not a winner, or the team with the lead will win the game.
Expanded Instant Replay
The tentacles of instant replay continue to grow, although this might be for the best if it’s executed properly. This year, it will dip its toe into personal foul penalties.
I was still officiating in 1999 when instant replay was first instituted in the NFL. Back then, we said we would only look at plays that involved the ground, the lines and the end zones. That was it.
Well, that’s certainly not the case anymore. Replay is a crucial part of NFL games and has consistently evolved over the last 26 years.
Here’s how it will grow this season.
This season, instant replay is going to begin looking into fouls that are called on the field. It will not, however, be able to assess penalties.
For example, take a facemask penalty that was called on the field even though it was clear that a shoulder pad was grabbed instead. Replay can step in and pick up that flag. If a flag is thrown for a hit to the quarterback’s head, they can review it to make sure the defensive player did in fact make contact with the helmet.
Is this a good development? Yes. Is it going to be flawless and complete right away? No. But it’s at least a good start.
The next step will be the review officials being able to suggest that fouls are implemented when they aren’t called on the field. There were a few key moments last season where a blatant facemask or illegal forward pass went unpenalized.
For now, replay is going to chime in and let the referee on the field know they should pick up the flag. It’s (hopefully) a step forward in using instant replay for positive purposes.
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