Why NFL is seeing more long field goals: Kickers admit 2025 rule change is adding distance to their kicks

The most talked about field goal of the 2025 NFL season so far didn't even happen during the season, it happened during the preseason. Back in August, Cam Little hit the longest field goal in football history when he drilled a 70-yarder for the Jacksonville Jaguars. That was the first sign that something might be different with kickers this year. 

The second sign came in September when Tampa Bay's Chase McLaughlin hit the longest OUTDOOR field goal in NFL history with a 65-yarder during a 31-25 loss to the Eagles in Week 4. Going into the game, McLaughlin's career-long was 57 yards, but he was 0-for-2 on his only two career attempts longer than that. Against the Eagles, though, something was different: He topped his career-long TWICE in the same game with a 58-yarder and his record-setting 65-yarder. 

The Eagles got the win in that game and could have started preparing for Week 5, but in a press conference held TWO DAYS after their victory, the only thing Vic Fangio wanted to talk about was McLaughlin's kicks. The Eagles defensive coordinator insisted that the only reason McLaughlin was able to hit the kicks is because he was benefiting from a new K-Ball rule that was implemented just this year. 

"These kicking balls that they changed this year have drastically changed the kicking game, field goals in particular," Fangio said. "So it's almost like they need an asterisk here. It was the live ball era or the asterisk for those home runs [Former MLB player Barry] Bonds and [Former MLB player Sammy] Sosa and [Former MLB player Mark] McGwire were hitting. The way they've changed the ball. The NFL, the kicking ball has drastically changed the field goals."

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So does Fangio have a point or is he just a crazy conspiracy theorist who doesn't understand kicking? As it turns out, Fangio might actually be right. 

From 1970 thru 2006, a period of 36 years, there were only six total field goals of 60 yards or more. This year, there have been six field goals of more than 60 yards through the first seven weeks alone. This marks the first year in NFL history where there have been more than three field goals of 60 yards or more through the first seven weeks. 

It's not just 60 yarders, though, it's pretty much all long range kicks: There have been 35 field goals of at least 55 yards so far this year, which is the most ever through seven weeks. As recently as 2021, kickers didn't even hit 35 field goals from that distance during the ENTIRE season. Back in 2024, there were 26 field goals of at least 55 yards through seven weeks, which was the previous record. 

The proof is in the numbers: Kickers are hitting long field goals at a higher rate this season and one big reason why that appears to be happening is because of a new K-Ball rule that was implemented this year. 

Under the new rule, each team is given 60 kicking footballs (K-Balls) at the beginning of the season. This allows each team to break the ball in before they use it. Since the ball can be used in practice, that generally softens it up. Teams are also allowed to use a brush to try and rub down the bumps (Every football is covered by thousands of tiny bumps). 

The team has to give three K-Balls to the officiating crew before each game and then the officials have to approve each ball for use. Once a ball is approved, it gets a special mark from the referee and each K-Ball can only be used for three games before being retired. 

Under the old rule that existed from 1999 until 2024, teams were given three brand new footballs ON GAME DAY and they had roughly one hour to break them in. The new balls were stiff, which made them more difficult to kick. It was the difference between using a brand new baseball glove and a worn in glove. 

So are kickers now able to hit longer field goals thanks to the new rule? Just ask San Francisco 49ers kicker Eddy Pineiro about that. 

"Does it help with distance? Absolutely," Pineiro said of the new rule. 

Pineiro predicted back in September that there would be more long distance kicks this year and his prediction turned out to be 100% correct. 

"One big difference [with the new rule] is that you can use the ball that you practice with in the games, which a lot of people don't know that. That helps a lot," Pineiro told KNBR after Week 3. "That's going to help a lot with distance. You're going to see a lot of 60-plus yarders this year with some more broken in balls. If you don't have a broken in ball, it's a lot harder to hit a 60-plus yard field goal. The ball won't travel as far."

If anyone should know how much the new rule can help, it's definitely Pineiro. Under the old K-Ball rule, the longest field goal of Pineiro's career was 56 yards, but under the new rule, he's already topped that. Back in Week 5, he hit a key 59-yard field goal for the 49ers in a 26-23 win over the Rams. 

Just two years ago, Pineiro fell about five yards short on a 59-yard attempt. This year, not only is he 17 of 17 on the season, but he's a perfect 5 of 5 from 50 yards and longer. 

Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson also thinks the new rule has helped. 

"I think it definitely makes a little bit of a difference," McPherson told CBS Sports earlier this month. "The leather is a little bit softer, I think the ball compresses a little bit more."

The difference between a stiff ball and a softer ball can make all the difference in the world when it comes to how far back a kicker can attempt a field goal from. 

"Yea, if you can get a really good, broken in ball, it can add five to 10 yards," McPherson said. "If you can compress the ball, it will go a lot further and so I feel like that's what we're seeing: The balls are softer, more springy and people are being able to compress it really well and not really have to try to hit these long field goals."

The NFL seems to be aware that a well broken in ball can add "five to 10 yards," which is one likely reason why the league is requiring that each K-Ball gets taken out of commission after three games. But even with that requirement in place, the long kicks are still coming. 

McPherson almost had the biggest field goal of the NFL season back in Week 6 when he drilled what would have been an NFL record 67-yard kick against Green Bay, but the kick didn't count because Packers coach Matt LaFleur called a timeout just before the snap. 

That's a kick the Bengals probably don't try under the old rule, a rule that was in place for the first four seasons of McPherson's career. 

"From playing with the K-ball rule for the first four years and then playing with [the new rule] this year, I'd say I have noticed a difference and maybe it's just that you get confidence from using the ball and seeing it throughout the week," the Bengals kicker said. 

Now that teams get the K-Balls in their hands at the beginning of the season, it allows them to brush away the bumps on the ball. A smoother ball allows the kicker to make better contact, which leads to better kicks. 

"We tried to work out all the little knobs on the football and try to get it pretty smooth and we try to break it as best we can, but the leather, in years past, was a lot stiffer," McPherson said. "The balls would still fly pretty well in years past, but for whatever reason, just being able to kick them throughout the week and then break them in and actually take our time with it, it's been a big plus."

Of course, the new rule isn't the only reason we're seeing so many long distance kicks. The best kicker in the NFL right now is Brandon Aubrey and he's coached in Dallas by Nick Sorensen, the special teams coordinator for the Cowboys. Although Sorensen thinks the new rule might be having an impact on why we're seeing long kicks, he also believes that kickers have just improved over time. 

"I think the kickers are just better and better and better every year," Sorensen said recently. "The K-Ball may have some degree, but I think it's more the comfort with the ball because it's broken in. I don't know if the ball would travel further. I feel like every year you've got these kids their legs are just so much stronger."

That's an assessment that Pineiro agrees with. 

"The game's evolving, kickers are getting better," Pineiro said. "There's more kicking coaches now, there's more technique stuff that you can do to better your kicking that we didn't have in the past."

If kickers are evolving, Aubrey is the pinnacle of that evolution. The former MLS draft pick has taken over the NFL. Of the six field goals that have been hit this year from 60 yards or longer, Aubrey has two of them. He also hit a 65-yarder last year, which is tied with McLaughlin for the second-longest field goal in NFL history. Overall, he's hit five field goals of at least 60 yards, which is the most by any kicker in NFL history. 

Justin Tucker holds the NFL record for longest field goal at 66 yards, but Fangio doesn't expect that to be standing much longer. 

"The guy in Dallas is going to hit a 70-plus yarder this year. You can just book it," Fangio said. 

If Tucker's record is going to go down, it could certainly happen in Week 8. The Cowboys are playing in Denver, which is the most kicker-friendly city in the NFL. Three of the eight longest outdoor field goals in NFL history were kicked in the Mile High City. 

With the elevation so high, the air is less dense, which allows the ball to travel further. If you combine that with the new K-Ball rule, this could be the week where Tucker's record finally falls. Thanks to a simple rule change, Aubrey and a few other kickers have a very real chance to top Tucker's mark this season.