An onside kick is a short kickoff the kicking team tries to recover itself. The ball has to travel 10 yards before the kicking team can touch it. Under current rules a team must tell the officials it is kicking onside and can only do so when it is trailing. Since 2025 a trailing team can try one at any point in the game, not just the fourth quarter.
Updated Sept. 17, 2026.
The surprise onside kick is gone. Because the dynamic kickoff parks every coverage player 25 yards downfield, a team that wants to kick short has to declare it, and the officials tell the receiving team. Both sides then line up the old way. The kicker kicks from his own 35 with five teammates on each side of him, none more than a yard behind the ball and none able to get a running start. The receiving team keeps most of its players between 10 and 25 yards from the kick, right where the ball has to go.
When it can be tried is the part that changed. In 2024 a declared onside kick was only allowed in the fourth quarter by a team that was behind. In 2025 the owners dropped the fourth-quarter limit, so a trailing team can try one at any time, including right after scoring in the first half. A team that is tied or leading still cannot kick onside at all.
The kick itself works the way it always has. The ball must go 10 yards, or be touched by the receiving team, before the kicking team can recover it. If the kicking team touches it early, the receiving team gets the ball at that spot. Recovery rates have been low for years, typically well under one in five, because the receiving team knows it is coming and fills the front line with players who can catch.
A team down 10 with 2:30 left scores a touchdown to get within three. It declares an onside kick, lines up five players on each side of the kicker, and dribbles the ball 11 yards toward the sideline. If a teammate falls on it, the offense has the ball near midfield with a chance to tie. If the receiving team recovers, it takes over around its own 45 and can run the clock down.
Only if it is trailing. Since the 2025 season a trailing team can declare an onside kick in any quarter. In 2024 it was limited to the fourth quarter. A team that is tied or ahead cannot kick onside.
Yes. Under the dynamic kickoff the kicking team has to tell the officials before the play, and the receiving team is told too. The surprise onside kick no longer exists in the NFL.
Ten yards, unless a receiving-team player touches it first. If the kicking team touches the ball before it goes 10 yards, the receiving team gets it at that spot.
Category: CBA & League Rules. Part of the StickToTheModel NFL Encyclopedia.