The United Football League has implemented several new rule changes for the 2026 season and those changes should definitely add some serious excitement to the game.
The biggest change being made is the fact that a four-point field goal will now be possible, but the only way to get four points is if your kicker drills a field goal from 60 yards or longer. Although the NFL saw 12 field goals of 60 yards or longer in 2025, there were zero kicks from that distance in the UFL, so this rule wouldn’t have been used last season, but with the kick now worth four points, more teams might think about attempting a field goal from long range.
During the UFL’s first season back in 2024, there were three field goals from 60 yards or longer, so it’s certainly possible that the four-point play will happen this year (The longest kick in UFL history came from current Lions kicker Jake Bates, who drilled a 64-yarder while playing for the Michigan Panthers in 2024).
Hopefully the NFL takes note of the four-point rule, because the league should give some serious thought about implementing it.
The four-point field goal was one of several bold new rules that the UFL announced on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at some of the most notable changes:
- No punting inside the 50-yard line. The league also added another rule with a special teams twist. No punts will be allowed from inside the 50-yard line, so once a team crosses midfield, they’re not allowed to punt. If a team crosses midfield and gets penalized or loses yardage that pushes them back into their own territory, they’re still NOT allowed to punt. Teams WILL be allowed to punt inside the 50 after the after the two-minute warning of either half, but that will be the only situation where it’s permitted.
- The Tush Push is being banned. The NFL hasn’t banned the tush push, but the UFL has. Starting this year, it will be illegal to run “a play in which after the quarterback takes the snap, he immediately drives forward as the offensive line surges and is assisted by additional players behind him who physically push him forward into the surging offensive line.”
- Receivers only need one foot in-bounds. The UFL has decided to dump the NFL’s two-foot rule for catches and go to the college rule, which only requires a receiver to have one foot in-bounds to make a catch.
- Three-point conversion is possible. After a team scores a touchdown, they’ll have three options: They can kick an extra points (33-yard attempt), they can attempt a two-pointer from the two-yard line OR they can go for three. If a team wants to attempt a three-point conversion, the ball will be placed at the eight-yard line.
- The UFL will also be tweaking its kickoff. The league uses a kickoff that’s similar to what the NFL uses and the most notable change this year is that most touchbacks (or a kick out of bounds) will bring the ball out to the 40-yard line. The only time a touchback won’t go out to the 40 is if the ball hits in the landing zone and then rolls into the end zone. In that case, the touchback will go out to the 20-yard line. Like the NFL, the landing zone is the space between the goal line and the 20-yard line.
The UFL came into existence back in 2024 after the USFL and the XFL merged. The league consists of eight teams, including three that are new this year in the Columbus Aviators, Louisville Kings, and Orlando Storm. Those three will join the Birmingham Stallions, Dallas Renegades, D.C. Defenders, St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Gamblers.
The eight teams all unveiled their uniforms for the season last week.
Your first chance to see the new uniforms in action and to see how the new rules impact the game will come on March 27 when the UFL season kicks off with Birmingham facing Louisville.
