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How Often Do NFL Onside Kicks Work?

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By , edited by Nora Whitfield

Published · 6 min read

Fact-checked by Priya Anand

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How often did an NFL onside kick work in 2023: about 1 in 5, about 1 in 10, or about 1 in 20?

About 1 in 20. NFL.com reported that 5.2% of onside kicks were recovered in 2023. One in 20 is our rounding. Before the 2018 kickoff rules, the rate was 21.2%, from 1992 to 2017, per NFL Research.

Here an onside kick works when the kicking team recovers it. Each rate on this page is a figure the NFL published for a named season or window, unless we name another source, and we do not combine them. Each era is named for the kickoff rules in force, and every “1 in N” is our rounding of a published percentage.

The two wrong answers were each right once. About 1 in 5 was the long run rate before 2018: 21.2% from 1992 to 2017, per NFL Research. About 1 in 10 was 2018 and 2019 together: 10.4%, per NFL Research.

The rule eras, one at a time

The biggest kickoff rule changes came in 2018, 2024, 2025 and 2026, with smaller tweaks in some years between, and each rate below stays inside its own era.

Bar chart of NFL onside kick recovery rates by rule era: 21.2% from 1992 to 2017, 7.7% in 2018 and 5.2% in 2023. No official figure yet for the dynamic kickoff era from 2024.
NFL Research via NFL.com (2019, 2020); NFL.com (2024). Accessed Oct 19, 2026. Download this chart (2400 by 1260 PNG). Source: Book of Odds, bookofodds.com

Before the 2018 kickoff rules (to 2017)

From 1992 to 2017, 21.2% of onside kicks were recovered, per NFL Research. That is about 1 in 5. The 2018 rules ended the running start: the kicking team had to put five players on each side of the ball, none lined up more than one yard from the restraining line.

The 2018 kickoff rules (2018 to 2023)

The new rules took effect in 2018 and were made permanent for 2019. In 2018, the first season without a running start, 4 of 52 onside kicks were recovered, or 7.7%, per NFL Research. At the time, per NFL Research, that was the lowest rate since such data became available in 1992. NFL Research put 2018 and 2019 together at 10.4%.

By 2023, still under the 2018 kickoff rules, NFL.com reported that 5.2% were recovered and that there were just two surprise onside kicks. That is about a quarter of the 1992 to 2017 rate. The ball has not changed shape. The run up is gone.

The dynamic kickoff (2024 on)

In 2024, the first year of the dynamic kickoff, an onside kick could come only in the fourth quarter or later, only from a team that was trailing, and only after the kicking team declared it. That rule was in place for 2024 only. Per CBS Sports and UW Madison’s Badger Bracketology, 3 of 50 onside kicks were recovered that season.

In 2025, the dynamic kickoff was made permanent, and a trailing team could declare an onside kick at any time during the game. The 2026 rules go further: the kicking team may declare one at any time, whatever the score.

Since 2024, the kicking team must announce an onside kick first, so the other team always knows it is coming.

We found no official NFL tally for 2025, and the 2026 season is still being played.

The alternative that keeps losing

Since 2019, the league has been offered a single fourth down play in place of the onside kick, and has never adopted it.

In 2019, Denver proposed letting a team try to convert fourth and 15 from its own 35 yard line instead of kicking onside, once a game and only in the fourth quarter. It did not get the 24 votes needed. In 2020, a fourth and 15 from the kicking team’s own 25 was tabled, with no official vote. It was proposed again in 2021. In 2023, Philadelphia proposed fourth and 20 instead, and that was tabled. A fourth and 20 alternative was voted down in 2024, per ProFootballTalk. None appears among the rules adopted for 2026.

The arithmetic behind the idea is plain. NFL Research counted 60 fourth and 15 plays over the ten seasons to 2019, and 16 were converted. On paper, that is about 1 in 4. The rulebook has not been persuaded.

Data limits

The NFL publishes onside kick rates for some seasons and windows, not a full season by season table, and we do not combine figures from different eras. The 2023 figure comes from NFL.com reporting, and one secondary source, UW Madison’s Badger Bracketology, puts that season at 4.9%. The 2024 count comes from secondary sources only. We found no official NFL tally for 2025, and the 2026 season is still being played. Apart from the 2024 count, which UW Madison gives for the regular season, the sources do not say whether playoff games are included.

The short version

Before the 2018 kickoff rules, 21.2% of onside kicks were recovered, from 1992 to 2017, per NFL Research. In 2023, NFL.com reported 5.2%, or about 1 in 20. The rules have changed every year since 2024. We found no official NFL tally for 2025, and the 2026 season is still being played, so this page will be rechecked when official figures are published.

Last checked: 2026-10-19, against NFL Research figures published on NFL.com, NFL.com rule reports and the 2025 and 2026 Official Playing Rules of the NFL. This article was machine-checked against the sources above and has not been expert-reviewed. Spotted an error or a newer public figure? Please tell us on our contact page with the article link and we will review it.

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