With the potential for a referee work stoppage next season, the NFL moved on Tuesday to alter its replay procedure for one year only “to correct clear and obvious” mistakes made during games by replacement referees.
The approved rule, made by the competitions committee at the annual league meeting at Phoenix, was one of a handful of changes to the NFL rule book for the 2026 season.
Other changes made by the competitions committee included allowing the kicking team to declare an onside kick at any point in the game. The previous rule only allowed a team which was losing the game to attempt an onside kick.
Kickoffs into the end zone from the 50-yard line, after a penalty, will now be placed at the 20-yard line, instead of the 25.
Another new role will modify the receiving team’s alignment in the setup zone of a kickoff, while the league can now consult with on-field officials when considering ejections for flagrant acts that were either called, or missed during play.
Changes to the calls made by potential replacement officials allow designated members at the officiating command center to change calls. The move comes as the league is negotiating with the NFL Referees Association on a new collective bargaining agreement as the current CBA expires at the end of May.
Changes can be made to both calls that were missed on the field and calls that were made but deemed incorrect.
In a 2012 game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks with replacement officials, the Seahawks won on a last-second pass to the end zone where players from both teams were deemed to have simultaneous possession. But the NFL later admitted that a Seahawks offensive pass interference penalty was missed that would have given the Packers the victory.
After using replacement officials for the first two weeks of the 2012 season, the league ended the lockout of officials two days after the Packers-Seahawks game.
