Before coaches and general managers head back to their respective cities, the NFL clubs voted to adopt a handful of rules change proposals, bylaws, and resolutions on Tuesday at the league meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.

Most of the changes deal with kickoffs and on-field officiating. Find the full transcript of changes below or here.

Changes with onside kicks

Of note, teams are now allowed to declare an onside kick at any time in the game. Previously, it was only during the fourth quarter and when trailing. This does still require teams to declare the decision, something adopted ahead of the 2024 season, but now they can do so at any point in the game.

The Panthers completed the first successful onside kick of the 2025 season, when trailing against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. Knowing that he has the special teams unit to pull it off, head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Monday at league meetings that he and game management coordinator George Li have already examined how this new rule might change the game.

"Not necessarily from a depth chart standpoint," Canales began in explanation. "More so, just who are you playing? What is the score? What does that look like? Could this be an opportunity to affect that? It's not a surprise onside kick. They know it's coming.

"It might fit some different scenarios. George Li and I were looking at some of the scenarios from last year where it might have been utilized. There was a handful. It wasn't a lot, but it would have been useful in a couple of games, not necessarily our games, but some of the other teams."

Other kick changes

Other rule changes around the kickoff include eliminating a team's incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds from the 50-yard line. Essentially, whether intentional or not, if the kicking team is kicking from the 50-yard line (due to a penalty by the receiving team enforced on the kick) and the ball is:

• kicked out of bounds
• strikes the receiving team's goal post, uprights, or crossbar
• lands at or beyond the goal line and is downed in the end zone by the receiving team…

Then the dead-ball spot will be the 20-yard line.

Additionally, the alignment requirements have changed for kickoffs in terms of how many players the receiving team must have set up in each area. The goal is to enhance player safety and provide more of a spark in kickoff returns.

The changes state the receiving team must now have five players with their front foot on the receiving team's restraining line. If the receiving team elects to have more than nine players in the setup zone, then at least six players must be lined up with their front foot on the receiving team's restraining line.

And may have a maximum of four players in the setup zone, not on the restraining line, but never more than two players in each of the three areas within the setup zone bordered by the sidelines and inbounds lines. If there are four players in the setup zone not on the restraining line, there must be at least one player lined up between the sideline and inbounds line on each side of the field.

Change with officiating

There were also changes in how the league interacts with officials on the field. League personnel can now consult with on-field officials before the next snap to discuss disqualifications for flagrant football and non-football acts that weren'tinitially called on the field.

For the next season, in preparation for possibly using replacement officials, the league's officiating department can correct "clear and obvious mistakes made by on-field officials that impact the game."

So, if someone in the officiating department sees video evidence of one of the following fouls that was not initially called on the field, they can message in to the on-field officials to administer the foul.

• Roughing the passer
• Intentional grounding
• An act that would result in the disqualification of a player had the related foul
• been called on the field.

They can also overturn any of the following penalties called on the field:

• Twisting, pulling, or turning the facemask or helmet opening
• Roughing the passer
• Intentional grounding
• Horse-collar tackle
• Illegal contact
• Pass interference, only if there is clear and obvious video evidence that there was inadvertent tangling of feet when both players were playing the ball, or neither player was playing the ball.
• The disqualification of a player

The Panthers most significantly experienced two calls under question during the Week 18 regular season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

After the two-minute warning and into overtime, the department can assist with the following:

• Unnecessary roughness
• Unsportsmanlike conduct

Finally, they can provide corrections for running into or roughing the kicker.

Odds and ends

A few other changes or updates of note:

• Teams can work with the league to adjust their final roster-reduction dates if they are playing an international game the first week of the season, as the Rams and 49ers are this year.
• Saturday and Sunday of the Labor Day weekend will now be considered business days so clubs can claim players off waivers following roster cutdowns.
• Players on the reserve/physically unable to perform list may have their 21-day practice window opened as soon as the week following a club's season game of the regular season. This is a change from when it was following the sixth game of the season.

Official rule changes from the NFL league meetings, 2026

2026 Approved Playing Rules Summary

1. By Competition Committee, to permit the kicking team to declare an onside kick at any time during the game.

2. By Competition Committee; to eliminate the kicking team's incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line.

3. By Competition Committee; to modify the kickoff alignment requirements for the receiving team players in the setup zone.

4-A. By Competition Committee; to allow League personnel to consult with on-field officials when considering disqualifications for both flagrant football acts and non-football acts without being called on the field.

5. By Competition Committee; for one year only, to allow the NFL Officiating department to correct clear and obvious mistakes made by on-field officials that impact the game, in the event that there is a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association.

2026 Approved Bylaws Summary

1. By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 17.1 of the Constitution and Bylaws to permit the League office to adjust the procedures and related dates and deadlines for the final roster reduction to accommodate an international game scheduled in the first week of the regular season.
2. By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 18.1 (B) of the Constitution and Bylaws to establish the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend as business days to provide clubs with personnel notices during the first weekend after the roster reduction.
3. By Competition Committee; to permit players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform to begin a 21-day practice period after the club's second game of the regular season.

2026 Approved Resolutions Summary

1. By Pittsburgh; to make permanent the change implemented during the 2025 season that permits clubs to have one video or phone call with no more than five prospective unrestricted free agent during the two-day negotiation period, and to permit clubs to make travel arrangements with such players upon agreeing to terms.