The NFL Banned The Hip-Drop Tackle In 2024. Now It Is 15 Yards And A First Down.

Most tackling fouls in the NFL have been in the rulebook for decades. The hip-drop tackle is one of the newest. It was not a foul until the 2024 season.

The vote

On March 25, 2024, at the Annual League Meeting, NFL owners approved a rule banning the swivel hip-drop tackling technique. NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said there were 230 instances of the technique in games the season before, with 15 players missing time as a result.

How the rulebook defines it

Rule 12, Section 2, Article 18 says it is a foul if a player uses this technique to bring a runner to the ground:

• 01He grabs the runner with one or both hands, or wraps the runner with both arms; and
• 02he unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and/or trapping the runner's leg(s) at or below the knee

It is a foul if a player grabs the runner, then swivels and drops his hips onto the runner's legs.

The penalty

Loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down - the same penalty the rulebook sets for a horse-collar tackle two articles earlier.