NFL owners meeting analysis: 6 things to know, including rule change proposals
NFL owners meeting analysis: 6 things to know, including rule change proposals
Tyler Dragon, USA TODAYSat, March 28, 2026 at 11:01 AM UTC
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NFL owners, executives and coaches will descend upon Phoenix, Arizona from March 29-31 for their annual owners meeting.
Playing rules, bylaws and resolution proposals will be discussed and some could be implemented ahead of the 2026 NFL season. The owners meetings also features media availability for NFC coaches on Monday and AFC coaches on Tuesday.
The meeting concludes on Tuesday with a scheduled press conference with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
USA TODAY Sports will be on the ground for this year’s meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Here are intriguing storylines to watch:
NFL trying to avert replacement ref chaos
Remember the replacement official fiasco that was a blackeye for the NFL in 2012? Brace yourself for the possibility of a repeat episode.
The NFL Referees Association’s CBA is set to expire on May 31, and the NFL will hire replacement refs if a work stoppage occurs. Negotiations between the league and the NFLRA broke down on March 25, less than a day into a planned two-day bargaining session.
In preparation for a work stoppage, the NFL’s competition committee submitted a proposal to allow the NFL officiating department (the league’s command center in New York) to correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials that impact the game. The proposal is for one year only in the event there is a work stoppage involving game officials represented by the NFLRA.
“We have many more tools in the toolbox, because replay assist already allows us to do things that we never could do in 2012 and review a ton of plays – scoring plays, turnovers, all those things – and so for us, this was just another bucket we wanted to put in there in case we have to operate under that set of circumstances,” Atlanta Falcons CEO and competition committee chairman Rich McKay said.
Good on the NFL’s competition committee for trying to protect the league from blatant missed calls by replacement referees. However, the proposal comes up short. Officials represented by the NFL Referees Association miss calls, too. The NFL officiating department should be able to review and correct all calls, regardless if it’s a replacement official or an official represented by the NFL Referees Association.
Tush push won’t be outlawed this year
We can all look forward to more tush pushes. There is no proposal to ban the tush push this year after the play was nearly outlawed prior to the 2025 season. McKay noted the number of times the tush push is used and its overall success rate are down.
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“I just think there's less talk about it within the football community, and there was no proposal on the table to put anything in this year to deal with that,” McKay said.
NFL considering another tweak to onside kick rule
When the NFL implemented the new kickoff rules that required teams to declare whether they would onside kick or not, they could only onside kick in the fourth quarter and when trailing. The league modified the rule last year and allowed teams to onside kick during any quarter when trailing. The competition committee is now proposing a rule to allow the kicking team to declare an onside kick at any time during the game regardless of the score.
If established, the rule could add some more excitement to special teams.
More: NFL rule changes 2026: Competition committees submits five proposals
More discussions regarding disqualifications
The competition committee submitted a proposal that will allow NFL personnel to consult with on-field officials when mulling disqualifications for flagrant football acts and non-football acts without being called on the field.
Calls of that magnitude warrant thorough discussion.
Trade draft picks five years out?
The Cleveland Browns are proposing a rule change that would permit NFL teams to trade draft picks five years into the future instead of three. The proposal was one of two submitted by teams. The other, by the Pittsburgh Steelers, would allow teams to have one video or phone call with no more than five prospective free agents during the annual two-day negotiation period.
Cleveland’s rule proposal is interesting. There’s already been an uptick in trades. The NFL saw 18 trades just one week into the new league year. Allowing teams to use more assets to complete trades should only increase the number of trades we see.
Roger Goodell press conference
The NFL commissioner will close out the owners meeting with a press conference on Tuesday. Expect Goodell to be asked a wide range of questions about the upcoming season, rules, referees, international games, diversity and more.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL owners meeting preview: Rule changes, replacement refs, tush push
Source: “AOL Sports”
