NFL Sees No New Calls to Ban Controversial Tush Push

A renewed effort to ban the NFL’s Tush Push isn’t likely this offseason, nor are any other major rules changes for the 2026 season.

Rich McKay, co-chair of the league’s competition committee, said he hasn’t seen a new proposal to ban the controversial short-yardage play, and isn’t necessarily expecting one. After an initial tabling of a vote to outlaw the play, a revised proposal fronted by the Packers failed at NFL spring meetings last May, falling two votes short of passage.

Since then, the Eagles and Bills have continued to be by far the two leading teams to use the Tush Push, and debate about its appeal and safety have continued, but have not coalesced into further action. 

“There’s no team proposal that I’ve seen from it,” McKay said at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. “So, I wouldn’t envision it. But you never know.”

In addition to the vote failing itself, last year’s attempt to outlaw the tush push was something of a check on the power of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. He had been fairly outspoken about his feelings about the play, saying there were safety concerns that went “beyond data.” A series of impassioned speeches by Tush Push proponents, however, helped turn the tide against a potential ban. 

During the 2025 season, the first down conversion percentage for Tush Push plays fell somewhat, with a 76.8% success rate compared to 82% in the 2022–24 seasons. 

Anecdotally, there were other signs of the weakening power of the Tush Push. After a fumble on the play helped lead to an Eagles loss to the Bears in November, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts said it was “becoming tougher and tougher” to successfully execute a Tush Push. 

State of the Game

McKay, meanwhile, said there is no groundswell for many other rules changes either, as he lauded the overall state of play in the NFL 

“The game is in a pretty good place,” he said.

One still-thorny area, however, is the league’s catch rule. The enforcement of the current statue led to a hotly debated end to the Bills-Broncos game in the divisional playoff round, and there were several other controversial catch rulings during the 2025 season.

“I think the issue on catch/no-catch is that our technology today is extraordinary, so the ability to go frame-by-frame and slow things down, it’s a great solution for a lot of things, but it does present challenges for others,” McKay said. “We need to make sure your rules, as written, don’t just match up [with] what’s on the field, but how it’s looked at in replay.”

The NFL’s annual meeting will be held March 29–April 1 in Phoenix.