• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

(Tush) Push On: NFL Owners Reject Ban on Controversial Play

The Tush Push was a fundamental part of the Eagles’ march to the Super Bowl LIX title, and it’s now staying around after some last-minute lobbying by the team’s owner and a celebrated former player.  

Tush Push
Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

In a stunning reversal, the Tush Push has survived a seemingly certain ban by NFL team owners.

After a formal proposal from the Packers was previously passed by two separate committees, NFL owners voted to keep the oft-debated play. Multiple reports and sources said there were 10 votes against the ban, with the 22 votes for it coming in two below the needed 75% threshold for it to be enacted. That suggests the subject will likely be revisited in the months to come. 

Still, the vote is a surprising rebuke of commissioner Roger Goodell, who was said to have favored a ban, though he denied that Wednesday. Despite no specific incidents of player injury last year from Tush Push plays, advocates of a ban have repeatedly cited health and safety concerns, as well as aesthetic ones in which the play has been likened to rugby. 

A vote to outlaw the accentuated quarterback sneak was previously tabled in early April at the league’s annual meeting. The Packers then presented the proposal again for this week’s spring meeting in Minnesota with slightly adjusted language.

A key swing in sentiment, however, could have emerged Wednesday morning from both Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and former center Jason Kelce, who each spoke passionately before the other team owners in defense of keeping the play legal. The pair made arguments regarding the safety concerns, as well as making a point as to how seldom the play occurs over the course of all NFL games, with it happening less than 0.3% of the time.  

The Eagles then made their views known publicly within minutes of the vote, releasing a social media post reading simply, “Push On.” The team followed that up by posting a 26-minute video reel of Tush Push plays on YouTube.

Coincidentally, the 22–10 vote for the ban was also the same score by which the Eagles defeated the Packers in last year’s playoffs. 

“We took all the necessary vote counts and realized this was not a rule that was ready to be passed,” said NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay. “Twenty-four [votes] is a high bar, and it should be.”

Playoff Withdrawal

Goodell’s influence, meanwhile, also faltered somewhat regarding a proposed change to playoff seeding. Another previously tabled proposal, issued by the Lions, would have eliminated guaranteed home games for division champions and instead seeded conference playoff participants strictly on win-loss records.

The impetus behind this potential change was to bring more importance to late-season games, and keep teams from resting starters in the final weeks of the regular season—in turn aiding television viewership. Ultimately, though, the Lions withdrew the proposal as team support remained far short of the necessary 75% threshold, and it, too, could be revisited later.

Among the issues likely to still be sorted out is whether this change will require a companion one to the NFL’s current and carefully calibrated method of determining the schedule each year.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Mayor Calls Commanders RFK Stadium Deal ‘a BFD’ for D.C.’s Future

The NFL team makes a series of additional commitments.

Trey Hendrickson Ends $450K Holdout Without New Bengals Deal

The defensive end is seeking a raise on his $16 million 2025 salary.

Browns Push Forward on $2.4B Stadium Despite Political Obstacles

The NFL team plans a stadium groundbreaking, despite funding and legal issues.

How Sports Leagues Are Responding to NFL Headquarters Shooting

The building housing the NFL headquarters was barricaded and closed Tuesday.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
LeBron James
exclusive

LeBron Boat Meeting in France With Jokić Agent Was About New League

The power trio was discussing a new global basketball league.
July 30, 2025

Ex-NBPA Director Defends Two-Apron System: ‘There’s No Hard Cap’

The NBA’s two-apron system started in the 2023–24 season.
Moe Wagner
July 30, 2025

NBA Adding European Games As It Explores New League

The Magic and Grizzlies will play in Berlin and London in January 2026. 
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Jul 27, 2025; Washington, D.C., USA; Leylah Fernandez (CAN) celebrates with the championship trophy after her match against Anna Kalinskaya (not pictured) in the women's singles final of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
July 29, 2025

DC Open Increases Women’s Purse by 39%, Keeps 2027 Target for Equal..

DC Open chairman Mark Ein spoke to Front Office Sports.
July 29, 2025

Golf Major Bringing Biggest Women’s Sporting Event to Wales

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club is hosting the AIG Women’s Open.
NYPD
July 29, 2025

Shooter at NFL Building Targeted League Over Head Injuries

The gunman shot one league employee in the building lobby.
July 29, 2025

Top MLS Voices Advocate for International Schedule Change

The league is still weighing a move to align with international soccer.