You’re going to see some absurdly long field goals in the NFL this season. Here’s why

NFL field goal changes

Last season, Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little drilled a 68-yard field goal that became the longest field goal ever made in an NFL game. That kick was actually shorter than the 70-yarder he hit during the preseason. Then, just last week, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker hit a 69-yarder of his own.

Absurdly long field goals are becoming a pattern in the NFL, and it’s almost surely going to continue this year.

Over the past few seasons, the NFL has quietly made some changes to its kicking balls that seem to have made things noticeably easier on kickers. That, coupled with the recent kickoff changes that have made a drastic impact on starting field position, has led to an increase in incredibly long field goals.

New Kicking Balls

Ahead of the 2025 season, the NFL quietly passed a resolution that allowed teams to prepare their kicking balls – known in the league as “K-balls” – before game day, rather than during game day. The change got very little publicity, likely because nobody really expected the change to make a drastic difference. But it seems to have, and Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio took notice.

Following a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which kicker Chase McLaughlin hit a 65-yard field goal and a 58-yard field goal, Fangio brought up the quiet rule change, saying that it made a “drastic” impact on the kicking game. Fangio said the impact has been so drastic that he compared it to the steroid era of Major League Baseball.

“You know what you guys have missed? Not just you but everybody is, we gave up a 65-yard field goal and a 58-yard field goal,” he told reporters via ESPN . “These kicking balls that changed this year, have drastically changed the kicking game, field goals in particular. It’s almost like they need an asterisk era, like it was the live ball era, or the asterisk for those home runs that [Barry] Bonds or [Sammy] Sosa or [Mark] McGwire were hitting. The way they have changed the ball, the NFL has drastically changed the field goals.”

The new rules allow teams to break in the balls throughout the week rather than just in the minutes leading up to the game, which allows for the ball to fly a bit further, anonymous special teams coordinators told ESPN.

“The ball is flying 5 yards further because the balls are broken in well,” an anonymous special teams coordinator told ESPN in a text message.

The data doesn’t lie, either. In 2024, kickers made just four of 14 attempts beyond 60 yards – just 29%. In 2025, that number jumped to 12 of 22 – 55%. And it sounds like the league is happy with those results, especially when it leads to exciting, game-ending long field goals.

“After four weeks, I’ve walked out of here at the Art McNally Gameday Central, like, damn, we had three walk-off field goals today!” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said. “And it’s not just walk-off. They’re not like they are 30 yards, they are kicking that thing from 50-plus, and they’re walking off.”

New Kickoff Rules

While the new rules for the kicking balls have seemingly made it easier for kickers to connect from long distances, the new kickoff rules will likely give them more opportunities.

Beginning in 2024, the NFL moved to its new dynamic kickoff format. While the league said that the new kickoff format was designed to increase the number of kickoff returns while minimizing the number of high-speed collisions, the change has also had another consequence: a drastic improvement in starting field position.

Under the new format, a touchback results in the offense taking possession at the 35-yard line, up 10 yards from the 25-yard line. Additionally, the new kickoff format has produced some longer returns on average. As a result, the average starting field position is up dramatically, from the 25.6-yard line to the 30.6-yard line.

That’s obviously had an impact on scoring, as better starting field position leads to more scoring opportunities. It also has the potential to increase long field goals.

The NFL has no shortage of kickers who can reliably connect from long range – guys like Little, Butker, McLaughlin, Evan McPherson, Brandon Aubrey, just to name a few. If the range for those players is now on their own side of the field thanks to the new kicking balls, offenses are now just a play or two away from field goal range before they even step onto the field, thanks to the new kickoff format.

As teams and kickers gradually realize that field goal range is longer than it’s ever been and they have more chances at these long kicks than ever before, expect to see a drastic increase in absurdly long field goal attempts this season and beyond.

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