SerpApi.Org
The UFL awarded extra points for field goals of 60 yards or longer in 2026, leading to mixed feedback from NFL players and personnel regarding the prospect of that happening one day in the nation's top sports league.
That, combined with observations at this summer's FIFA World Cup, has us considering radical changes that would surely be met with various levels of resistance but could make the sport that much more viewer-friendly or entertaining.
Here are our favorite ideas.
Single-Play 'Red Cards' (1 of 12)
The Concept: Officials can issue a single-play "red card" send-off for egregious personal fouls. The offending player must sit on the sideline for one snap, forcing their unit to play 10-on-11. Opposing teams could alternatively take the penalty yardage if that's preferred.
The Goal: Instantly punish the specific individual who committed the foul—rather than just penalizing the team's overall position—while injecting massive television drama into the very next snap.
The Potential Downside: Referee subjectivity could ruin key moments, and sidelining a star player for even one high-stakes snap would trigger fan outrage.
Likelihood of Adoption: 1/10. It's not happening anytime soon and would likely—and understandably—be subject to a safety review.
Shootout-Style Overtime (2 of 12)
The Concept: If overtime remains tied after both offenses have had two possessions, teams enter a soccer-style shootout where offenses run alternating plays from the opposing 5-yard line. Each gets five "shots" before it becomes sudden death.
The Goal: Guarantee a fast, decisive winner, eliminate ties, and deliver maximum television drama with limited added physical wear from scrimmage plays.
The Potential Downside: Purists will argue that taking special teams out of the equation makes it a different sport.
Likelihood of Adoption: 5/10. It beats a tie without adding much work or time and is far from fluky. I could see it happening in the next decade, at least in the regular season.
Timeout-for-Down Trading (3 of 12)
The Concept: Once per game, a head coach can burn a remaining timeout to buy a single extra down—turning a 4th-and-goal into a 5th down. Alternatively, a coach can trade a remaining down for a timeout—turning a 3rd-and-goal into a 4th-and-goal but stopping the clock.
The Goal: Add a fascinating, high-stakes chess match to clock management, rewarding coaches who conserve timeouts with an ultimate lifeline late in games. It also keeps games competitive for as long as possible.
The Potential Downside: Risks making late-game trailing drives feel artificial or unfairly stacked against defenses.
Likelihood of Adoption: 1/10. It's likely too hokey for now or the near future, even if it would be great fun.
4-Point Long-Distance Field Goals (4 of 12)
The Concept: Any field goal converted from 60 yards or longer is awarded four points instead of three.
The Goal: Reward extraordinary leg strength, inject juice into late-game drive management, and keep more games alive for longer.
The Potential Downside: Could encourage teams to become less offensive and settle for field goal attempts in or around the opposing 45-yard line, potentially robbing us of epic plays from scrimmage. Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey called it "a nightmare for the playcallers."
Likelihood of Adoption: 5/10. It isn't too gimmicky, it will keep more teams in games, and it makes a long-distance clutch field goal even more exciting.
Narrow the Uprights (5 of 12)
The Concept: Shrink the official width of the goalposts from 18 feet, 6 inches down to 14 or 15 feet.
The Goal: Offset modern kicking perfection—where 50-plus yarders are now routine—and reintroduce real risk, volatility and strategy to field-goal attempts. Encourage more teams to go for it on fourth down, especially knowing a missed field goal will result in unfavorable field position.
The Potential Downside: Would result in more scrimmage plays, which broadly means more injuries to notable players over time.
Likelihood of Adoption: 4/10. It would be a no-brainer if not for that injury factor, but that's big in the modern NFL.
Eliminate Placekicking Entirely (6 of 12)
The Concept: Ban kickoffs, field goals and PAT kicks, but retain punts for field-position battles. Possessions start on a fixed yard line after scores. On fourth down, teams either go for it or punt. Touchdowns default to an automatic seven points, but teams can opt to "gamble for eight" via a single scrimmage play from the 2-yard line—with the catch that a failed attempt drops the touchdown value down to six.
The Goal: Eliminate one of the lamest aspects of the game, forcing teams to drive all the way into the end zone rather than settling for field goals.
The Potential Downside: It's a purist's nightmare, and it likely results in more plays, which in turn means more injuries.
Likelihood of Adoption: 1/10. NFL traditionalists and TV broadcast partners still love the drama of a game-winning field goal attempt as time expires.
Replace the Onside Kick With a 4th-and-15 Play (7 of 12)
The Concept: Trailing teams in the fourth quarter can elect to forgo an onside kick and instead attempt a single scrimmage play from their own 25-yard line on 4th-and-15 to retain possession.
The Goal: Replace the modern onside kick—which has become virtually unrecoverable due to safety rules—with high-stakes, skill-based drama featuring elite players on both sides of the ball.
The Potential Downside: A cheap defensive penalty can flip a game entirely, and this once again favors offensive play over defense and special teams.
Likelihood of Adoption: 7/10. It feels like only a matter of time considering the continued debate, as well as success with similar endeavors in spring leagues.
Adopt a '3-Point Conversion' (8 of 12)
The Concept: After a touchdown, teams choose between a one-point PAT (15-yard line), a two-point play (2-yard line), or a three-point play from the 10 or 12.
The Goal: Make a nine-point deficit a true one-possession game late in the fourth quarter, giving trailing teams a realistic shot at a game-tying touchdown and three-point try without relying on low-probability onside kicks.
The Potential Downside: Traditionalists would hate the added volatility.
Likelihood of Adoption: 4/10. It's worked in several spring leagues, but adding this and the 4th-and-15 onside kick replacement would probably be overkill. One or the other.
The Sixth Eligible Receiver "Joker" Play (9 of 12)
The Concept: Once per half, an offense can declare a sixth eligible receiver, leaving only four pass blockers upfront.
The Goal: Create a "Joker Card" that forces defenses into a dilemma: do you drop extra help into coverage against six targets, or instantly rush five to exploit the unblocked defender?
The Potential Downside: Increased injury risk for quarterbacks behind a four-man protection line.
Likelihood of Adoption: 1/10. It's still a little too gimmicky for this era.
No Kneeling Behind the Line of Scrimmage (10 of 12)
The Concept: Ban the victory formation and all intentional surrender plays behind the line of scrimmage. To enforce this and close loopholes (like tossing to a running back who then slides or gives himself up), any play where the ball carrier surrenders or fails to make a forward-progress attempt beyond the line of scrimmage will result in an immediate clock stoppage at the whistle.
The Goal: Force teams to play to the final whistle, eliminating the most anti-climactic 90 seconds in sports and giving trailing teams a puncher's chance via stops or fumbles.
The Potential Downside: Increases injury risk, and would be difficult to enforce.
Likelihood of Adoption: 1/10. The NFLPA would fight this tooth and nail on player safety grounds.
More Running Clock (11 of 12)
The Concept: Outside the final two minutes of each half, the game clock continues to run on out-of-bounds plays and incomplete passes—restarting as soon as the official spots the ball—while the play clock shrinks from 40 down to 30 seconds.
The Goal: Eliminate dead broadcast time, accelerate game flow, and deliver a fast-moving viewing window under 2.5 hours.
The Potential Downside: A running clock reduces the total number of snaps per game, which depresses player and team stats in general and shrinks valuable TV commercial inventory.
Likelihood of Adoption: 5/10. While ad revenue loss is a tough pill to swallow, the league could eventually determine that concentrated, fully captured eyeballs over a crisp two-and-a-half-hour window carry far greater long-term value.
1 Penalty Challenge Per Game (12 of 12)
The Concept: Grant head coaches one challenge flag per game specifically to review subjective or missed penalties (holding, pass interference, roughing the passer).
The Goal: Correct game-altering officiating blunders on high-leverage plays before millions of viewers dissect the mistake on social media.
The Potential Downside: The subjectivity and standard at play likely mean very few plays will be overturned, while creating more delays.
Likelihood of Adoption: 6/10. "Very few" is better than nothing.
