The UFL spring football league has served as a useful laboratory for the NFL when it comes to potential rule changes.
We’ve already seen the NFL adopt the spring football kickoff, Donald Trump’s least favorite rule in all of sports and the only football topic he can actually talk about.
But ahead of the 2026 UFL season, the spring league is going even farther with experimental rule changes, that if adopted by the NFL, could make America’s most popular sports league look wildly different in the near future.
First, the UFL is taking head-on maybe the most controversial NFL rule in recent years by banning the “tush push.” The NFL has considered it in recent times, but has decided against making the favorite play of the Philadelphia Eagles illegal.
The other rule changes for the 2026 UFL season are even more drastic. The league will ban punts from inside opposition territory outside the last two minutes of each half. And in the most fundamental change, the league is making field goals greater than 60 yards worth four points.
The UFL will also persist with its staggered conversion options, although it is making a slight adjustment this season. A one-point conversion will be a 33-yard kick, a two-point conversion can be attempted from the 2-yard line, and a three-point conversion can be attempted from the 8-yard line.
In comments to The Athletic about the rule changes, UFL VP of officiating and Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino says the spring league is working closely with the NFL on these matters. So it wouldn’t be a shock if we see one or multiple of these rules eventually make its way to the big time.
“We look at the NFL as a partner,” UFL VP of officiating Dean Blandino told The Athletic. “The NFL is saying, ‘Could you try this?’ We’re using NFL officials in their first couple years for additional snaps. When we first tried the kickoff, you would have thought we were changing the fabric of the game. Four years later, the NFL is using it. It’s not innovation to be gimmicky.”
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“You look at what Aubrey and Bates have done; these are exciting plays. How do we incentivize our coaches to create more of these types of plays?” Blandino said. “A 65-yard field goal is more difficult than a 35-yard field goal, and there’s greater risk if you miss, so there should be greater reward.”
It’s no surprise to see Dean Blandino lead the charge in opposing the tush push given he said he was “done” with the play last season, citing how difficult it is to properly officiate.
While the tush push is probably on borrowed time anyways, the other rule changes would forever change how football is played. Offering multiple conversion opportunities and four-point field goals would offer infinitely more strategic options for teams, especially late in games. Strategy and analytics are already reshaping the way football is played. If any of these rules make it into the NFL, it would further transform the game that millions of Americans know and love.
The NFL is so popular that it doesn’t need to fix what isn’t broken. A lot of fans will look at these rule changes and think that they are way too gimmicky for primetime. Imagine football fans responding to a team taking a knee on a 3rd and long to intentionally try for a 60-yard FG.
But the UFL is the perfect opportunity to see if they can work. We will find out when the spring league begins on March 27 with games on Fox and ESPN.
About Matt Yoder