NFL overtime rules will now be uniform across the regular season and playoffs

Overtime is now uniform in the NFL. At the NFL's annual meetings on Tuesday, the league voted to amend the overtime period in the regular season and align it with how the extra period is played in the postseason

The NFL is making a change to its overtime period, which will now be uniform throughout the league. At the league's annual meetings on Tuesday, the league voted to amend the overtime period in the regular season and align it with how the extra period is played in the postseason, and it was approved by a vote of 29-3, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

The league is going to be testing out a new kickoff format as well, which will see the ball placed at the 25-yard line and the receiving team will have the option to fair catch the kickoff and have it placed at the 25-yard line, or try to return it from its original spot. A vote of 24 of the 32 teams, or 75%, was needed to pass the proposals.

Specifically, NFL owners approved the proposal brought forward by the Philadelphia Eagles, which amends Rule 16, Section 1 and aligns "the postseason and regular season overtime rules by granting both teams an opportunity to possess the ball regardless of the outcome of the first possession."

The league needed 75% (24 of the 32 teams) to approve this amendment, which they have since secured.

Before this change, if a game were to go into overtime in the regular season and the team that had the first possession scored a touchdown, the game would be over. Only if the team that won the coin toss kicked a field goal or was unable to score would the opposing team get a possession. We saw the prior rule go into effect firsthand in Week 9 of last season when the Kansas City Chiefs won the overtime coin toss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and drove 70 yards down the field on the first possession, scored, and won the game.

In 2022, the NFL amended the overtime rules in the playoffs to ensure each team gets a possession, no matter if the first team scored a touchdown. Now, that's expanding into the regular season, giving the game play a more consistent flow.

While the overtime rules will be consistent with the playoffs, the extra period will remain at 10 minutes. In the initial proposal, it was discussed that overtime extend to 15 minutes, but the league has decided to stick with keeping it at 10 minutes.