Entertainment

The National Football League (NFL) has prohibited the use of the hip-drop tackle

22 January 2025

National Football League (NFL): The National Football League (NFL) has prohibited the use of the hip-drop tackle during the annual league meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Monday, March 25, 2024. The National Football League (NFL) competition committee unanimously voted in favour of the change, where they exclaimed that the hip-drop tackle is a controversial technique that resulted in multiple player injuries over the years. For studies, The NFL has undertaken comprehensive research on the hip-drop tackle, leading to the decision to prohibit this technique. Analyzing 20,000 tackles since 2022, the league identified 105 instances of hip-drop tackles.

National Football League (NFL)

What is Hip-drop Tackle?

The hip-drop tackle is a technique where a defender wraps the ball carrier with both arms or holds them with both hands, then unweights himself by swivelling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee. As per the new ruling as the horse-collar, the hip-drop tackle player can expect more fines than penalties in the early stages as teams work to remove the technique from the game or lose 15 yards and an automatic first down According to ARTICLE 18. HIP-DROP TACKLE, the following ruling is as follows:-

It is a foul if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground:

(a) grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and

(b) unweights himself by swivelling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.

Penalty: For a Hip-Drop Tackle: Loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down.