PALM BEACH, Fla. — A potential ban on the National Football League’s much-debated Tush Push has been pushed. 

Team owners tabled a Tuesday morning vote to ban the play, with work to continue around language for the proposed measure. The accentuated quarterback sneak, likened by some as more akin to a rugby play, was among the foremost topics up for a vote at this week’s NFL annual meeting. The Packers initially sought the ban, citing player health and safety concerns. League data, however, showed no injuries last year stemming from Tush Push plays. The issue could be revisited at May’s league meetings in Minnesota.

Before the vote, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni admitted to some lobbying to defeat the Packers’ proposal. Philadelphia perfected the use of the Tush Push last year en route to its dominant Super Bowl LIX victory. 

“Have I been lobbying? I’ve talked to a couple of people, yeah,” Sirianni said. “My opinion is very well documented.”

According to league sources, exactly half the league—16 teams—did not support the ban, leaving support for the Packers’ proposal well short of the 24 teams needed for passage. 

Rich McKay, Falcons CEO and co-chair of the NFL competition committee, said the Tush Push was the topic of more than 30 minutes of discussion among the owners Tuesday, ranging broadly from injury concerns to a sense of fairness between offensive and defensive play. A perceived targeting of the Eagles and Bills, by far the two most successful operators of the Tush Push, also emerged.

“You never like any discussion in any room being projected toward a team or two,” McKay said. “It’s never something we like doing.”

The Packers are now expected to revise the wording and framing of their proposed ban.

Among other votes taken Tuesday:

• Approval of new kickoff rules that will spot a touchback at the receiving team’s own 35-yard line, up from the 30-yard line. 
• A change in onside kick rules, however, that would allow trailing teams to attempt the play at any time did not pass. It will remain limited to the fourth quarter, and the topic will be revisited in May.
• Regular-season overtime periods will remain at 10 minutes, but each team is now guaranteed at least one offensive possession—even if the receiving team scores a touchdown. 
• An elimination of automatic first downs for defensive holding penalties, proposed by the Lions, did not pass. 
• Owners also tabled a proposal by the Lions to seed playoff teams strictly on regular-season records, which would no longer guarantee a home game for division winners.

The kickoff rule change is potentially the most impactful on the list. The new measure, combined with a permanent approval of dynamic kickoff rules, is expected to reduce player injury rates, while actively discouraging kick teams from simply booting the ball into the end zone. NFL executives, eager to restore the kickoff as a significant component of league play, expect return rates to more than double to nearly 70% because of the change. 

“[We] see this going up substantially because of that yardage difference,” McKay said.

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Having achieved a sizable presence in Europe, South America, and the Pacific Rim, the National Football League now has another major target in its international sights: the Middle East.

As part of the league’s ongoing annual meeting here, several additions to the existing Global Markets Program were finalized. Most notable among that was the addition of the United Arab Emirates as a designated market territory for the 49ers, Commanders, and Rams. 

Greece was also added as a new market for the Chargers, bringing the overall program to 21 countries involving 29 of 32 teams as the NFL’s Global Markets Program enters its fourth year. It was the UAE, however, that led the latest wave, and it’s anything but a passing interest for the league, or the participating teams. 

Not only is the NFL interested in developing fandom in the UAE and expanding its presence in that part of the world, but league officials already are thinking about potentially playing games in the country’s capital, Abu Dhabi. 

“We don’t know the timing, and it’s really an ‘if’ in terms of whether we’ll play a game there. But I will say that’s a market where there’s strong interest in our game, strong interest in growing our game on a year-round basis,” said NFL EVP of club business Peter O’Reilly. “I think that’s why you see three clubs raising their hands with interest there. It’s a market we’ll continue to explore. We’ve done some exploratory trips there to understand the viability of the potential for a regular-season game in the market. We have more work to do there.”

Looking Ahead

Such activity would build on an international play schedule that will reach a record seven games in 2025, including first-time trips in the regular season to Ireland and Spain. 

Plans are already in place for a first-time regular-season trip to Australia in 2026. Beyond that, a broader desire exists to potentially more than double its slate of international games.

“You’ve seen the growth that’s happening. We’re up to seven games this year,” said Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. “The league has a short-term goal of getting to eight, and maybe down the road as many as 16.”

Several other major sports properties, including the NBA, have also had a keen interest in the Middle East—not surprising given the wealth and accelerating development in the region. Some sporting events there, however, have not drawn well or met initial expectations. The NFL’s Global Markets Program has a somewhat different strategy, essentially seeding a market first with a variety of fan and community events and business deals over multiple years before arriving with games. 

As for the return to São Paulo in September that will again take advantage of a scheduling loophole to play on a Friday, there have been no decisions made on who will carry the game for U.S. viewers. NBCUniversal’s Peacock streamed the first NFL game there last year. 

March Madness TV ratings have cooled off from what was a 32-year high after the men’s opening rounds.

The Elite Eight games averaged 9 million viewers across CBS, TBS, and truTV, as all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. That’s down 10% from last year, when the Elite Eight concluded on Easter Sunday. This year’s ratings are up 4% from 2023.

With no teams seeded lower than No. 10, Sweet 16 games averaged 9.8 million viewers, which is down 6% compared to 2024 and flat with 2023.

The men’s NCAA tournament to date is averaging 9.4 million viewers across CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV, which is even with last year and up 3% compared to the same point through the 2023 tournament.

Final Act

CBS will broadcast Saturday’s Final Four matchups and next Monday night’s national championship game as the four top seeds face off for the first time since 2008.

Duke and consensus No. 1 NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg beating Houston to reach the title game would no doubt create the highest viewership for this tournament’s finale.

Last year was the first time the women’s title game drew a larger TV audience than the men’s, as 18.9 million watched South Carolina–Iowa on ABC and ESPN, compared to 14.8 million for UConn-Purdue on TNT, TBS, and truTV.