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The NFL owners are meeting this week to discuss rules changes and other pressing league issues. The most publicized issues looking to be resolved are the length of overtime and the adoption of a second return from injured reserve designation.
However, a new issue appears to be on the docket and it’s one that fans around the league are going to love. According to USA Today’s Ken Pelissero, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants officials to be more lenient with celebrations:
Roger Goodell is expected to tell NFL owners group celebrations, using ball as prop after TDs, going to ground, snow angels are now allowed.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 23, 2017
This comes as pretty surprising news considering Goodell has added more and more acts and gestures to the banned list. Last year the NFL made it a priority to cut down on excessive celebrations and gestures which they deemed as inappropriate or sexually suggestive. As a result, celebration penalty numbers were through the roof in 2016. From Pelissero back in February:
There were 30 so-called “demonstration” penalties in 2016 – up from 29 over the previous two seasons combined and just five in 2013, according to data compiled by the NFL and obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
In true NFL fashion, however, the league isn’t rolling back all of their newer restrictions on celebrations.
Prolonged acts, miming weapons, offensive gestures, sexually suggestive stuff still expected to be banned. That includes twerking. Sorry, AB
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 23, 2017
Still, this is a win for the league, the fans and the players. Heck, even the referees are likely to be happy with this change. Dean Blandino said back in April that officials hate calling celebration penalties.
Let’s honor the league’s rare delve into sanity with some of the best Lions celebrations in recent history:
