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A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Additionally, it may refer to a kickoff time, the scheduled time of the first kickoff of a game. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to return the ball, i.e., attempt to advance it towards the kicking team's end zone, until the player with the ball is tackled by the kicking team, goes out of bounds, scores a touchdown, or the play is otherwise ruled dead. Kickoffs take place at the start of each half of play, the beginning of overtime in some overtime formats, and after scoring plays. Normally, the kicking team hopes to kick the ball as far down the field as possible in order to maximize the distance the team returning the kick must advance in order to score.
Common variants on the typical kickoff format include the onside kick, in which the kicking team attempts to regain possession of the ball by kicking it a short distance; a touchback, which may occur if the ball is kicked into the receiving team's end zone; or a fair catch, in which a player on the receiving team asks to catch the ball without interference from the kicking team, waiving his entitlement to attempt a return rush. Additionally, penalties exist for various infractions such as a player violating his position restrictions prior to the kick (5-yard penalty), or if the ball goes out of bounds before touching a player (25 yards past the spot of the kick or placed at the spot the ball left the field of play, whichever is more advantageous to the receiving team).
After a safety in Canadian football, the scored-against kicks off. In American football, a kickoff is an option, but most teams choose to punt the ball on the free kick; the National Football League, in contrast to most other leagues, prohibits the use of a kicking tee on a safety free kick.
The second XFL used a unique kickoff procedure. Kickoffs took place from the kicking team's 30-yard line, as opposed to the 35-yard line in the NFL. The positioning of players was dramatically different from that in any previous outdoor football league. All players on both teams, except the kicker and a single returner, were required to line up directly across from each other, with the kicking team on the receiving team's 35 and the receiving team on its own 30. On each side of the ball, each team had to have at least two players lined up between the outside of the yard markers and the sideline, and at least two players between the inside of the yard marker and the hashmarks. All players except the kicker and returner had to remain stationary, with both feet on the ground and at least one on the team's appropriate yard line, until the returner caught the ball, or the ball was on the ground for 3 seconds. Touchbacks were spotted at the receiving team's 35-yard line. The XFL also had severe penalties for kicks that went out of bounds, or fell short of the receiving team's 20-yard line. Onside kicks were allowed, using more conventional outdoor football rules, but the referee had to be informed before such a kick could be attempted.
kicker Matthew Wright (left) kicks off to the Las Vegas Raiders on November 29, 2024, under the 2024 kickoff rules]] In 2024, the NFL adopted a new kickoff procedure very similar to that used by the second XFL. The kickoff point remains at the kicking team's 35-yard line, but all players on the kicking team apart from the kicker line up at the receiving team's 40. At least nine members of the receiving team must line up in a "setup zone" between their own 30- and 35-yard lines, and one or two returners are allowed in the "landing zone" between the goal line and the 20. In a slight variation from the XFL procedure, all players except the kicker and returners are prohibited from moving before the ball hits the ground or touches a player within the landing zone. Touchbacks are spotted at the receiving team's 30, and fair catches are prohibited. Onside kicks, using the traditional formation, are allowed only in the fourth quarter and in overtime, but the kicking team must inform the game officials of its intent to do so. This change was adopted for the 2024 season only, allowing for possible tweaks over time.
If the ball goes out of bounds without being touched by a player, the receiving team can choose either to have the ball moved back 5 yards and re-kicked, to take the ball 25 yards (30 yards under NCAA rules; 25 yards under National Federation high school rules) past the spot of the kick (usually at their own 35-yard line), or to take the ball where it went out of bounds. On an onside kick, if the ball does not travel ten yards before the kicking team recovers the ball, they will take a 5-yard penalty and have the chance to kick another onside kick. If the onside kick goes less than 10 yards again, the receiving team will receive the ball at the spot the kicking team recovered it. However, if the receiving team touches the ball before it goes 10 yards, either team can recover it unpenalized.
The XFL had distinctive penalties for kicks that went out of bounds, failed to reach the receiving team's 20-yard line in flight, or returned behind the 20 after touching the ground past it. For a kick that went out of bounds, the receiving team could take possession either at the spot where the ball went out of bounds, or at the kicking team's 45-yard line. On kicks that failed to reach the 20, or return to the area between the 20 and the kicking team, the ball was immediately whistled dead and the receiving team received possession at the kicking team's 45. The USFL had a similarly severe penalty for kicks that go out of bounds; the receiving team could take possession at the spot where the ball went out of bounds, or at the 50-yard line. The current UFL adopted the USFL's penalty rule.
Kickoffs into the end zone resulting in touchbacks became much more common in the NFL in 2011 as a result of a rule change. Whereas the kicking team previously kicked the ball off from their 30-yard line, the NFL moved the spot of the kickoff up 5 yards before the 2011 season in an attempt to avoid injuries from high-speed collisions. Only 16 percent of kickoffs in the 2010 season were touchbacks, but that jumped to almost 44 percent after the rule change. In the 2024 season, corresponding with the NFL's dramatic change to kickoff procedures, touchbacks on kickoffs will be spotted at the receiving team's 30-yard line.
In the second XFL, the standard spot for a touchback was the receiving team's 35-yard line. However, if a kickoff or free kick after a safety first bounced outside the end zone and was then downed by the receiving team in its end zone, the ball was spotted on the receiving team's 15 instead of the 35.
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