What are the NFL's new overtime rules in 2025?

The NFL finally, mercifully, changed its overtime rules in 2025. No longer can regular season games be profoundly influenced by how a coin falls.

The league altered its rulebook last spring, aligning its regular season and playoff guidelines for games that finish with a tie score in regulation. Unlike in 2024, a team can't win by scoring a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra frame. Both teams have to possess the ball, meaning there's no longer a massive advantage to winning the overtime coin toss. In fact, many teams now opt to kick away to start things, allowing the clarity of knowing whether they need a touchdown or merely a field goal to escape with a victory.

That's the latest change in evolving overtime policies. In 2017, the extra quarter was shortened from 15 minutes down to 10, paving the way for more ties along the way (eight since 2018). In 2022, the rules were amended to allow the team who kicked off to earn a rebuttal possession if the receiving team marched down the field and kicked a field goal on its opening possession -- though a first-drive touchdown would still end things.

Now, regular season overtime games can only end on the first drive due to a safety or defensive touchdown.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: NFL overtime rules: New format for regular season games in 2025