NFL owners approved a rule change allowing both teams to possess the ball in overtime during the regular season. That will match the postseason rule, with sudden death deciding the game if it remains tied after each team has a possession.
Regular-season overtime, though, will remain a maximum of 10 minutes with the game declared a tie after that.
The previous regular-season rule allowed for the team possessing the ball first to end the game with a touchdown.
In 2024, the team winning the coin toss in overtime went 12-4 and overtime lasted only 11.6 plays. The first-drive touchdown percentage was 37.5 percent.
The league reduced regular-season overtime from a maximum of 15 minutes to 10 minutes in 2017, and that will remain the case in 2025 over safety concerns of additional plays.
