NFL overtime might look different in 2025 based on comments made by top league officials on Wednesday.
NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent said the league’s Competition Committee plans to look at changing regular season overtime rules to match those used during the playoffs. The league has taken note of an increase in victories for teams that win the overtime coin toss, which might lead to a change.
Under current regular season rules, there remains no guarantee that both teams get the ball in overtime. A team can win the coin toss, score a touchdown on their first drive, and win the game.
By contrast, playoff overtime guarantees that both teams will get at least one possession. If the game remains tied after each team has possessed the ball, the next score wins. Those rules have not been used extensively, but they did come into play in Super Bowl LVIII, when one team seemingly did not know what they were.
Obviously, there is no guarantee a rule change is coming for the 2025 season. The fact that it is being talked about, however, suggests the league still is not completely happy with its overtime format. Teams that do not win the overtime coin toss would certainly benefit from this, and that may be best for the sport.
