A meeting is about to take place between NFL executives, led by commissioner Roger Goodell, and the league’s team owners from March 30 to April 2 in West Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss preparations for the 2025-26 season. In addition, some game rules that have left several teams dissatisfied will be discussed, and for this meeting, once again, the issue of Playoff seeding will be addressed.
During the four-day meeting, topics of great relevance are addressed, such as the Draft, which will be held from April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as well as setting tentative schedule proposals, Prime Time games and on this occasion the Detroit Lions management wants to discuss again the way to qualify for the Playoffs, a topic that did not resonate when the Los Angeles Chargers proposed it in 2023, but this time there are more teams involved.
Change in the seeding of teams heading into the Playoffs
As is known, the winner of each division qualifies directly to the playoffs where generally other teams with better records must seek their qualification through the wild card game. The Lions’ proposal, and it is speculated that it is supported by several teams, is that qualification will be through a general table according to the winning/losing records, as is currently handled in the NBA.
It suggests that the division winner with the best record in the conference would remain in first place in the seeding, but after that, teams would be seeded according to their record, regardless of whether or not they won their divisions or received invitations as wild card teams. This will benefit teams that in a single division have more than 10 wins, but by not winning it they go to the Wild Card.
Proposals to modify several NFL game rules
It should be noted that any proposed changes to the rules require at least 24 votes in favour to be approved, but owners generally tend to approve proposals that are backed by the competition committee, rather than individual teams. Nevertheless, several initiatives have been submitted, such as the following:
- Green Bay Packers are requesting a ban on the “Tush Push” play, a short-yardage play employed by the Philadelphia Eagles. The rule would prevent players from pushing a teammate who is lined up directly behind the center, and receives the ball, immediately at the time of the snap.
- Detroit Lions also requests to eliminate the automatic “First and Ten” for illegal contact or defensive holding.
- Philadelphia Eagles proposes to guarantee an offensive series for both teams during overtime in the regular season, aligning it with the current rules for playoff games.
- Pittsburgh Steelers proposes some direct contact between pending free agents and interested teams during the three-day legal tampering period that precedes the opening of the new league year.
Approval or denial of proposals
The resolution of these proposals can be decreed on the same day if they are approved unanimously or they can be kept in discussion for future meetings. However, recent history has indicated that if the 24 votes in favor are not obtained on the same day, the proposals will be evaluated until next year.
Read the full article here
