2026 UFL Rule Changes: Hello, 4-Point Field Goals. Goodbye, Punts Inside the 50.

The coin toss is back. Four-point field goal attempts are in. So is one foot in bounds. And punts inside the 50-yard line are out — sort of. Those are just a handful of the changes you can expect to see as play unfolds beginning March 27 in the United Football League. All of the changes made to the rules for the season are with a focus and an emphasis on putting the most exhilarating product on the field as possible. “What do we want for our game?” UFL head of officiating Dean Blandino and FOX Sports rules analyst told me. “What are we trying to provide for our fans? And what are the things we want to promote? We want to promote excitement, big plays. We want to promote scoring. We want a good pace of play. We don’t want a lot of stoppages. And we don’t want a lot of non-action plays, right? We want every play, if possible, to have a football action.” One of the hallmarks of the UFL is Blandino and colleague Mike Pereira assisting the speed of play with prompt and decisive rulings to expedite play on the field and maintain the rhythm of the game. That commitment to the joy of the game and reverence for the players on the field has led to the UFL choosing to continue to innovate in professional football unlike any league in the country. Here are the major takeaways you need to know about how the game will be played, officiated and scored: The Four-Point Field Goal: Any successful field goal kick from 60 yards or further will be worth four points. “What the kickers have done in the NFL the last couple of years, especially last year, 60-yard field goals are the new 50-yard field goals,” Blandino said. “It’s incredible.” NFL kickers converted 57 percent of all field goal attempts over 60 yards last season. “How can we just prioritize this and understand that when you kick a 65-yard field goal there’s a great risk,” he said. “If you miss, you’re giving your opponent a really good field position. If you miss short, that can get returned for a touchdown. We’ve seen that. So with that greater risk, why shouldn’t there be greater reward?” No more tush push: The UFL has banned the play that has generated a bunch of controversy in the NFL. Teams will no longer be able to drive their quarterback forward on a QB sneak, thus eliminating the tush push. One Foot In Bounds: The UFL will require only one foot in bounds for a legal catch, adopting NCAA rules to increase passing and scoring and potentially enhance player safety. Red Zone Penalties: The UFL will reinstate the rule that penalties committed in the Red Zone count as half the distance to the goal, reverting to the current NFL rules. No Punting Inside The 50-Yard-Line until the two-minute warning: No punts will be allowed from anywhere inside the opponents’ 50-yard-line (+49 yard and in), until after the two-minute warning of either half. Once the ball is made ready for play inside the 50-yard line, a team cannot punt even if a subsequent penalty or loss of yardage moves the ball behind the 50. If the ball is on the 50-yard line, a team may punt the ball. “When you get inside the 50-yard line, the number of punts is significantly down,” according to data collected by the UFL, Blandino said. “Teams do not punt for the most part inside the 50 unless it’s 4th-and-forever. So we felt like the game again is changing with all the analytics and everything else that’s happening. Let’s make it a rule where once you cross the 50, and the ball is made ready for play, you can’t punt for the rest of that possession. So we’re forcing the coaches to be aggressive. Maybe if a coach is a little less, is a little more conservative (in the past). Now, you can’t be conservative. You have to be aggressive. You gotta go for it.” But, crucially, teams will have the option to punt the ball inside the 50-yard line with two minutes left to play in the half or end of the game. Points After Touchdown There was no option to kick for an extra point in 2025. According to data the UFL collected, most teams attempted their point-after from the 5-yard line for two points. “And ended up being a tougher play to execute. It’s tough to run it in from the 5, so it really became a pass-only play in the low red zone, which is more compact,” Blandino said. “So even that pass play became a harder play to execute. So we felt like let’s bring the one point kick back. Similar to what the NFL does, snapping from the 15-yard line, ends up being a 33-yard field goal. You have that option. You could also go for 2 [points] from the two, which is basically a 50% play in the NFL. We moved the 3-point play spot up to the 8-yard line because that’s about 30% [conversion rate] when you look at some of the numbers from the NFL last couple years.” Coin Toss ● Standard Coin Toss Before Start of Game and Overtime: The league will use a standard coin toss before the start of the game and prior to overtime. The visiting team will have the opportunity to call heads or tails and the winning team based on the outcome will then get the first choice. In previous seasons, the home team made the decision. Overtime: Three Attempts Per Team New Kickoff Rules ● Kickoff Line: The ball will be kicked off from the 30-yard line. ● Kickoff Team: The 10 remaining players on the kickoff team will line up at the receiving team’s 45-yard line (Previously, the kickoff team lined up at the 40-yard line). ● Receiving Team Zone: The receiving team’s setup zone will stretch from its 40-yard line to the 35-yard line and must have at least nine players in that zone. (Previously, it was the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line.) ● Landing Zone: The landing zone will be from the receiving team’s 20-yard line to the goal line. The ball must reach the landing zone or it will be spotted at the 40-yard line. ● Out of Bounds: If the ball travels out of bounds, it will be spotted at the 40-yard line. ● Touchback Spots: There will be two touchback spots – the 40-yard line for balls kicked into the end zone, and the 20-yard line for balls that hit in the landing zone and then enter the endzone. (Previously, it was the 35-yard line for balls kicked into the end zone). “This keeps the return in the game, but also keeps it safe from the player perspective, where the players are closer together,” Blandino said. “You don’t have the long run-ups, you don’t have the higher speed collisions. The tweaks we made this year were to continue to look at improving starting field position. We just moved everybody back five yards. It’s going to give the returners an additional five yards. We feel like that’s going to improve field position, which promotes scoring, and again, is in line with what our goals are for the season.” The UFL’s goals with these rule changes reinforce its overarching goal for this season: Make it memorable.