Prior to the start of the 2019 NFL season, the league permanently adopted new kickoff rules that had been tested throughout the previous year. The new rules make kickoffs safer for players and reduce the amount of violent collisions that can occur, as players are no longer allowed to have a running start before the ball is kicked. Here’s a rundown of how kickoffs will work in the 2020 Super Bowl.
Via the NFL rulebook:
- The kickoff team must have five players on each side of the ball and cannot line up more than one-yard from the restraining line. For example, the kicking team will line up at the 34-yard line for a kickoff from the 35-yard line.
- At least two players must be lined up outside the yard-line number and two players between the inbounds lines (hash marks) and the yard-line number.
- At least eight players of the receiving team must be lined up in the 15-yard “setup zone” prior to kickoff; only three receiving-team players can remain outside of the setup zone.
- No wedge blocks are permitted. A wedge block is defined as “two or more players intentionally aligning shoulder-to-shoulder within two yards of each other, and who move forward together in an attempt to block for the runner.”
- Double-team blocks can only be performed by members of the receiving team who were originally lined up in the set-up zone at the time of the kick.
- Until the ball is touched or hits the ground, no player on either the receiving or kicking team may block within the 15-yard area from the kicking team’s restraining line. On an onside kick, the kicking team may not block in the first 10 yards.
- The ball is dead if it is not touched by the receiving team and touches the ground in the end zone (touchback).
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