Why the 49ers Voted Against the NFL's New Kickoff Rule

Kickoffs will have a new look in the NFL for the 2024 season and beyond. On Tuesday, the NFL approved to change how kickoffs are played out.

The tweet below with the video explains it all in perfect detail.

The hybrid kickoff rule change proposal has been approved by @NFL clubs for the 2024 season. 👇 pic.twitter.com/DggRekG3mo
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) March 26, 2024

This rule change, however, was not approved unanimously. Three teams voted against it with the San Francisco 49ers being one of them.Owner Jed York was made available to the media following the ruling where he was asked why he voted against the kickoff rule change.

"I think the concern is that it's such a drastic change to a play," York explained. "From a health and safety standpoint, we've tried to address the play. It was the most, highest rated injury play that existed, so they're going from that to trying to reintroduce the play into the game and make it more of a real play as opposed to a ceremonial play. I'm 100 percent for that. I just want to make sure with something that's brand new that we have the opportunity to address it during the middle of the season.

"Then, if there's injury data or a competitive issue that doesn't work. That it's not 'this is the asterisk season of the kickoff rule that didn't work.' I'm 100 percent for trying to make that play active in our game again. They've put in a ton of time, a ton of effort to try to make something work. I'm just sure that there's going to be tweaks to it and I'd rather tweak it if we have to in the middle of the season as opposed to 'Here's the asterisk season and we're gonna tweak it at the end of the year.' That's it."

While York actually makes a fair point, the idea of the NFL adjusting the rules midseason would never fly. That is a ridiculous thought. The only way for them to get actual data is from a whole season played. It is just like when they made pass interference reviewable. A whole season was needed to see if it would work, and clearly that one didn't after it was over.

This change won't be agreeable to everyone who watches the NFL despite the rule almost passing unanimously. But I get why they did it. The kickoff play has become just a filler now. It is a waste of time. At least this change will make it worth watching and play a factor in the games again.