An NFL Kickoff Touchback Can Mean The 20 Or The 35. Where It Lands Decides.

A touchback on an NFL kickoff sounds like one outcome. The rulebook gives it two different dead ball spots, and the landing zone decides between them.

The landing zone

Rule 6, Section 1, Article 2 defines the landing zone as the area from the receiving team's 20-yard line extending to its goal line.

Touchback at the 20

If a kickoff or safety kick touches the ground or a player in the landing zone and is then downed in the end zone by the receiving team, or goes out of bounds behind the receiving team's goal line, it is a touchback and the ball goes to the 20.

Touchback at the 35

It is a touchback at the 35 if, without first touching the ground or a player in the landing zone, the kick:

• 01goes out of bounds behind the receiving team's goal line
• 02strikes the receiving team's goal post, uprights, or crossbar
• 03lands at or beyond the goal line and is downed in the end zone by the receiving team

If the kickoff is from the 50-yard line and the play results in a touchback, then the dead ball spot is the 20-yard line.

The 2026 exception

The 2026 rules changes table lists 6-1-5 as modifying the dead ball spot after a touchback when the kickoff is from the 50-yard line. In either case, a touchback on a kickoff from the 50 comes out to the 20.