NFL Onside Kick Rules

The onside kick serves as a last-ditch effort for an NFL team to win the game. Teams typically use it after they score, but are still behind and don't have enough time to let the other team take possession. It works infrequently, but often enough to provide a little hope.

  1. Legality

    • An onside kick must travel 10 yards or be touched by a member of the receiving team before the football is considered live. Once it meets those criteria, anyone can recover the ball. The onside kick is invalid if the ball hasn't gone 10 yards or been touched by an opposing player.

    Strategy

    • Kicking teams who attempt an onside kick are allowed to stack their players on one side of the ball to maximize their chances of getting it. The players are usually "good hands" people like wide receivers who can handle the ball securely.

    Advancement

    • The receiving team can advance the kick as they wish, but if they fumble the ball away on the return, they lose possession. The kicking team cannot advance the onside-kick recovery unless the receiving team first had possession and then fumbled.

    Penalties

    • If an onside kick goes out of bounds without a member of the receiving team touching it, the kicking team suffers a five-yard penalty and must kick again.

    Retry

    • The kicking team gets two chances to make an onside kick. If possession is not resolved by then, the receiving team gets the ball at either the dead-ball location, the place where the ball went out of bounds or the spot where the ball was touched illegally.