NFL owners to vote on 2 rule changes and 1 important resolution at spring meeting

The NFL Spring League Meeting begins on Tuesday in Minneapolis with all 32 owners set to vote on some important rule changes and resolutions for the final time before preparation begins for the 2025 season.

While there are dozens of small, operational changes owners will decide on, those won’t impact the game in a meaningful way. Two big rules changes will, however — as well as a resolution set to be passed that will have major ramifications for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Rule change 1: Another vote on the ‘Tush Push’

Football’s most controversial play is back on the table for another vote after owners failed to reach an agreement on how, or if the NFL should ban the ‘Tush Push.’

This proposal, brought by the Green Bay Packers, would turn back the clock to 2004 before verbiage was introduced which allowed the Tush Push to evolve and become a part of football. It would add the following wording to the rule book:

The Packers’ justification for the rule change is “player safety” and “pace of play.” Banning the play came close to being passed at the winter meetings, but some members of the competition committee voiced concerns that the previous verbiage was too explicit in singling out one or two teams who use the play — and they’re obviously referring to the Eagles and Bills, the two teams who use the play the most.

Indications point to this revised wording passing on the second attempt. It will have a profound effect on the Philadelphia offense specifically, and to a lesser extent Buffalo’s. However, there is concern that more and more teams are looking into integrating the ‘Tush Push’ into their playbooks, and this proliferation is something NFL leadership has indicated they want to stop.

Likely to pass? Leaning yes. Banning the Tush Push is incredibly divisive. Teams don’t want to appear as if they’re singling out one or two organizations — but there is widespread support to prevent this proliferating through football and becoming commonplace. In order for that to happen a ban would need to be instituted now.

Rule change 2: Re-seeding teams after the first round of the playoffs

This proposal, introduced by the Detroit Lions, would effectively eliminate the importance of a team winning its division in terms of receiving home field advantage in the playoffs. Initially the Lions had put forth an idea that all playoff seeding was based on record and not divisional win, which would have seen the Buccaneers and Rams in the NFC, and Texans in the AFC be the final playoff seeds in their respective divisions.

That motion did not pass, so Detroit re-worked it.

The new proposal is to keep current seeding as-in for the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs, then re-seed to adjust for who gets gets to host in the second round based on regular season record, rather than giving deference to a division champion throughout the playoffs.

This would not have affected any team in the 2024 playoffs, but it’s more considered as an insurance measure in case a 12-5 team that finished second in its division wouldn’t need to travel to face a 10-7 division champion.

Likely to pass? No. It’s not so much that teams owners aren’t open to the idea of re-seeding, but that they don’t like too many erratic changes year-over-year. The NFL wants to ensure divisional games matter, owners of elite teams want more playoff games at home — but this half-step doesn’t really achieve either goal.

Proposal: Allowing NFL players to participate in Flag Football at the 2028 Olympic Games

When the Los Angeles Olympic Committee and the IOC announced that Flag Football was being added to the slate of sports in the 2028 Summer Olympics the immediate followup question was whether the NFL would allow its athletes to participate.

Owners have balked at the idea of athletes participating in anything outside of the NFL, but that is expected to change with the vote, scheduled to take place on Wednesday. It simply allows NFL players to participate in the games while under contract with NFL teams.

Likely to pass? Yes. While there’s bound to be some concern about athletes being injured in non-contact situations, both the NFL and league ownership view the Olympic Games as a critical chance to market football on a global stage. International expansion has been something the NFL is dying to see happen, and putting the league’s best athletes into the Olympics helps achieve that goal. This is expected to pass without much resistance.