Last weekend, a UFL game between the Orlando Storm and the Louisville Kings ended during an overtime shootout on a penalty, thanks to a quirk in the rules that awards a conversion after a second overtime foul is committed by the defense.
The UFL didn’t like the outcome. So it changed the rule.
Dean Blandino, the Fox rules analyst who pulls double duty for the UFL as the head of officiating and football rules innovation, announced the change on Thursday, in advance of Week 4.
“We heard you loud and clear,” Blandino said in a video posted on Twitter, via FoxSports.com. “Here’s the thing about the UFL. We’re not afraid to change to make the game better. So here’s what’s changing with our overtime rule. If the defense fouls during a try that’s no good, the ball goes to the one. If they foul again on any other try at any point during overtime, the ball goes to the half-yard line. If they foul again, it goes to the quarter[-yard line], and so on and so on.
“The penalty makes it easier for the offense to score, but it doesn’t automatically award a score. If you want to win, you’ve got to get the ball in the end zone, not rely on your opponent to commit a foul. That’s the UFL. We move the game forward.”
There are two potential problems with the revision to the rulebook. First, rule changes during a season potentially impact the integrity of the season itself. A game was already decided based on the old rule. With the new rule, the outcome may have been different. That’s why the NFL rarely if ever changes its rules during a given season.
Second, if a team is attempting a two-point conversion for the win during an overtime shootout, there’s no deterrent to committing a foul on every snap until the defense manages to make a stop. It’s similar to the debacle that unfolded in the 2024 NFC Championship, when the Commanders repeatedly jumped offside in an effort to stop the Eagles’ tush push.
Eventually, referee Shawn Hochuli announced that another foul by the Commanders would result in the Eagles being awarded a score. Blandino’s explanation suggests that, in the UFL, they’ll keep inching the ball closer and closer to the goal line, if the defense keeps committing fouls.
“We had good intentions with this rule,” Blandino said. “It was designed with player safety in mind. These guys are out there for three-plus hours, and we wanted to limit the number of additional snaps in overtime, but the game just can’t end on a penalty. That doesn’t work.”
It also doesn’t work to, in theory, have an unlimited number of live reps as the defense keeps forcing the offense to try and try again until the defense stops the offense.