On February 24, 2026, the UFL announced a series of rule changes for 2026 meant to "turbocharge offenses" and increase player safety. The changes include the following: ;Standard play • A
coin toss will be used before the start of the game and, if necessary, overtime, with the visiting team making the call and the winner making the choice to receive, kick off, defend goal, or defer to the second half. The UFL (and before it the XFL) had previously given all privileges of what a coin toss winner would receive to the home team as a home-field advantage, replacing
the original XFL's ill-fated "opening scramble." • Only one foot will be required to land in-bounds for a forward pass to be deemed complete. (This restores the XFL standard, which Daryl Johnston had vigorously opposed before his dismissal.) • The
tush push, defined by the UFL as "a play in which, after the quarterback takes the snap, he immediately drives forward as the offensive line surges and
is assisted by additional players behind him who physically push him forward into the surging offensive line", is prohibited. • The UFL will return to the standard used in all other levels of the game that limits the distance of a penalty to up to half the distance to the goal. ;Kickoffs • A minor adjustment to the "dynamic
kickoff" will move each team's line five yards toward the kicker. This means that the kicking team's lineup will move from the receiving team's 40-yard line to the 45 (with the kicker at their own 30), while the receiving team must have at least 9 players lined up between their 35- and 40-yard lines (previously their 30- and 35-yard lines). • If a ball is kicked into the end zone and results in a
touchback, the ball will be placed at the receiving team's 40-yard line as consequence. (The ball had previously been placed at the 35-yard line.) • If a kick lands within the "receiving zone" (between the receiving team's goal line and 20-yard line) but travels into the end zone without a return, the ball will be placed at the receiving team's 20-yard line. ;Punts • Teams on offense will be forbidden from punting if they cross midfield except after a
two-minute warning; they will only be permitted to punt if the scrimmage line is at or on their side of the 50-yard line. • The punt prohibition will stand even if the offense loses ground after crossing midfield, meaning the team cannot take intentional penalties, sacks, or kneels to become eligible to punt, and must attempt to achieve the first down or attempt a four-point field goal by placekick or drop kick (see below). ;Scoring • Midfield will now serve as a "four-point line" for field goal attempts, with any field goal of 60 or more yards earning four points instead of three. Made directly at Repole's behest, this rule is a revival and modification of one used by
NFL Europe, which had awarded four points to field goals of 50 or more yards. • After a touchdown, offenses will have the option to kick an
extra point, with the 33-yard distance for such kick attempts matching the NFL standard. Teams will also have an option to run a play from the 2-yard line for a
2-point conversion, or run a play from the 8-yard line for 3 points. The new 1- and 2-point options match the equivalents used in the NFL. Previously, the UFL did not permit kicks for 1 point, and teams were required to run or pass from the 2-, 5-, or 10-yard lines for 1, 2, or 3 points respectively. This reverts to the USFL rule; the previous UFL rule had been inherited from the XFL. ;Overtime • Overtime will retain its best-of-three-session "shootout" format, with teams alternating scrimmage plays from the 5-yard line and earning 2 points for each scoring play; sudden-death sessions will also be played to determine a winner if the teams remain tied after three sessions. • In a change announced before Week 4, a rule that awarded an automatic two points to the offense when the defense commits two nonconsecutive live-ball penalties in overtime was repealed. The rarely-employed rule, which was originally intended to discourage defenses from intentionally preventing OT scores (and also help ensure a timely end to the game), was invoked during the Week 3 Orlando/Louisville matchup, after the Kings committed a holding penalty on the Storm's fourth OT attempt; that penalty, when combined with a Louisville
pass interference foul in the third OT session, gave Orlando two points and the win. Beginning in Week 4, a graduated scale will determine placement of the ball after each defensive live-ball foul: The first penalty, as before, will give the offense a retry from the 1-yard line, but any subsequent live-ball foul by the same defense will see the offense attempt the retry from halfway closer to the goal line (i.e. the half-yard line after the second foul, nine-inch line after the third, 4.5-inch line after the fourth, and so on if necessary). The change, while continuing to disincentivize defensive OT penalties, ensures that the OT cannot end on a penalty. (The
unfair act rule that awards a score for consecutive fouls in an attempt to prevent a score remains on the books.) ==Season structure==