Wild NFL rule change could come after overtime games if owners vote by proposal by Ravens’ proposal

After adjusting its overtime rules several times over the past ten years, the NFL may soon make another change to the rulebook, except this time, the rule change could potentially revolutionize the game of OT games.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Ravens proposed a rule based on a ‘spot-and-pick’ concept. Under this rule, which will seriously add to the overtime, one team chooses the yard where the overtime ride begins, and the other team chooses whether they want to play offense or defense.

For example, if Team A and Team B play in overtime and Team A tosses the coin, it will pick anywhere on the field where the first ride of OT would begin. If it had picked the ten-yard line (90 yards away from the end zone), Team B would have been able to choose whether he wanted to play offense or defense. The overtime in this proposal would be a sudden death period of ten minutes, meaning that the first team to score would win the match (if no one scores, the match ends in a draw).

If Team B starts with the ball on its own 10-yard line and immediately goes three-and-out, Team A will likely set up with a solid field position and Team A will only need one field goal to win.

Not only would the proposal add an extra element of excitement to overtime, but it would also negate the benefit any team would get if they won the OT coin. Less than 4% of matches have extended overtime over the past season (10 out of 256). If the league is going to make a dramatic change, overtime seems the place to do it.

If the 32 owners of the NFL are not willing to accept such a wild rule, the Ravens also have another OT rule in mind. In the other proposal, overtime will be played over a full 7 minutes, 30 seconds, and the team that wins after the clock strikes zero will be the winner of the match (if no one wins, the match is tied).

According to NFL.com, the league is also considering a rule that would simply change the current overtime format after a sudden death. With three proposals on the table, it sounds like the NFL is definitely thinking seriously about changing overtime rules.

For a proposal to become an NFL rule, it must get a ‘yes’ vote from 24 of the league’s 32 owners at the next league meeting, which is currently scheduled for March 30-31 (if owners can not decide whether they like it) a new rule or not, they will sometimes submit the vote to their spring meeting in May).

If one of these OT proposals finally comes through, it will mean the third major change in overtime in the last nine years.

In March 2012, the NFL changed overtime with a rule change that ensured both teams a possession, as long as the team that received the kickoff for overtime did not get an attack on the first ride. Before the rule was introduced, NFL overtime was sudden death, meaning the first team to score points won the game, whether the points were scored by field goal, safety or finishing. The rule change in 2012 was actually implemented in 2010 for playoff games, but the NFL only made it the rule for all games two years later.

In 2017, the NFL shortened overtime from 15 minutes to 10 minutes for preseason and regular season games.

Changing overtime will not be the only thing the owners talk about at the end of March. There is also a proposal that would give teams the option to try a fourth-and-15 game in the fourth quarter instead of trying a kick on the leg. Click here to read more about the equally wild proposal.