Should the NFL adopt the UFL's 4-point field goal ...
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- The UFL saw eight successful 60-yard field goals in 2026 (8-for-14, 57.1%), including 4-for-4 in the playoffs, after zero such kicks in its 2025 season—the first year the four-point rule was in place.
- The NFL saw kickers attempt a record 22 field goals of 60-plus yards last season and make 12 (55%), nearly matching the 14 successful 60-yarders from the previous three seasons combined.
- Cam Little set the NFL record with a 68-yard field goal against the Raiders and holds the mark for the longest outdoor field goal (67-yard vs. Tennessee); his Jaguars coach Liam Coen said "Heck yeah, man. Let's go" to a four-point rule.
- Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey, who has made an NFL-record six field goals of 60-plus yards in his first three seasons, called the proposal "interesting for kickers" but said it "perverses the incentives of football."
- Pro Football Hall of Famers Adam Vinatieri and Jan Stenerud split—Vinatieri endorsed the idea and recalled his time in NFL Europe when 50-plus yarders were worth four points, while Stenerud objected because "the score is supposed to indicate how well the team is moving the ball."
- Kickers' accuracy from 50-plus yards has nearly doubled over four decades, rising from 35.6% in the 1980s to 67.9% from 2020-25, with overall field goal accuracy at 85% from 2020-25.
- The NFL's kickoff return rate jumped from 21.8% in 2023 to 74.5% in 2025 after the league adopted the XFL/UFL's dynamic kickoff structure, illustrating the NFL has previously borrowed spring-league innovations.
Why it matters: Adopting the rule would reward elite long-range kickers like Cam Little (68-yard NFL record) and Brandon Aubrey (six made 60-plus field goals), but critics like Aubrey argue it 'perverses the incentives' by encouraging teams to stall near midfield. The NFL hasn't changed scoring values since 1909.
