NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced at his Super Bowl press conference this month that the league is planning to expand the replay assist system for the 2025 season. This potential expansion is currently under discussion by the league’s Competition Committee.
Falcons CEO and committee chairman Rich McKay revealed that the committee dedicated two hours to discussing the replay assist system last Sunday. During their meeting, they evaluated how the system performed during the 2024 season and began considering additional situations where replay assist could be utilized.
According to McKay, as reported by Judy Battista of NFL Media, there is a proposal to incorporate “objective aspects” of officiating into the system. This could result in penalties like roughing the passer, facemask fouls, and other significant infractions being subject to the expedited review process. Currently, this review process is limited to scenarios such as ball spotting, pass completion verification, and determining whether a player is down by contact.
Any proposed rule changes will be subject to a vote at the league meetings later in the offseason. There is a strong likelihood that new considerations will be presented to team owners before the next season kicks off. This indicates a significant shift in the way games could be officiated in the near future.
