EAGAN, Minn. -- Even the most powerful figures in the NFL were unable to stop the tush push.
Despite some late momentum, a proposed ban of the tush push play that the Philadelphia Eagles have popularized did not receive enough votes at the spring meeting Wednesday.
"It's not disappointing for me, for our committee, for the committees that did the work," NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay said. "It takes 24 votes to pass anything. We don't set a low bar.
"... I've been in that room numerous times where we've had these types of discussions and one team really ends up being in their mind more impacted than others. It still takes 24 votes. In this case, those votes were not there. So, the rule will stay as it is."
To help convince his fellow team owners to keep the play, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie used a push from retired Eagles center Jason Kelce, who walked into the meeting room with Lurie about 10 minutes before the Wednesday session began. Lurie started by making an impassioned speech in defense of the play that lasted close to an hour, sources told ESPN's Seth Wickersham.
Kelce followed Lurie with a detailed presentation that included using game clips to specifically highlight the mechanics of the play and allay safety concerns. While some owners said they didn't feel the vote total was impacted by Kelce's speech, others expressed an appreciation for having a player's perspective.
"I think the biggest point I took away from it is, he is a player," Dallas Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said. "It doesn't feel like he's in any more of a precarious position to be injured than any other play, any other play from scrimmage. So that was the biggest takeaway I took from him. It was intriguing to see their techniques and him describe what they're trying to get accomplished, the angles."
Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter that the final vote was 22-10 on the proposal, which was submitted by the Green Bay Packers. The proposal needed 24 votes to pass.
The 10 teams to vote against the proposal, sources told Schefter, were: The Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
"I don't think it's the end of the world that it's not banned," Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II said. "I was for [the ban], but even if we passed the ban, we're still going to have quarterback sneaks in the game. I think more was made out of it than it was. Really, it wasn't as big a deal as we made out of it."
Because there were still a large number of teams in favor of a ban, the league could revisit the issue in the future, specifically as it relates to pushing and pulling a runner in seemingly stalled downfield scrums, McKay said.
"There are a bunch of teams that support it, committees that support it," McKay said. "It will be talked about again. It usually is, but it doesn't guarantee it. Let's get back to playing football.
"... We've got an issue, one that we couldn't get to the bar to pass, it doesn't mean I guarantee that you're going to see it again."
The Eagles celebrated the result, writing "Push On" overlayed on an image of their team lined up for the tush push against the Packers in a post to X on Wednesday. The Eagles and Packers will face each other in a "Monday Night Football" game in Week 10 this season.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 21, 2025
Kelce declined to comment on the vote Wednesday, saying, "I'm not here to talk to the media." Kelce, though, did laugh when a reporter pointed out he helped preserve the tush push while going sockless in a pair of loafers.
"I do a lot of things without socks on," he said, chuckling as he entered an elevator.
Lurie said he was "pleased" with the result of the vote but did not have any further comment.
Kelce, however, said recently on the "New Heights" podcast that he hosts with his brother Travis Kelce that he wasn't as concerned about a ban of the tush push as he was about clearing up misconceptions it poses an injury risk and was partially responsible for his decision to end his career.
"I'll come out of retirement today if you tell me all I've got to do is run 80 tush pushes to play in the NFL," Jason Kelce said. "I'll do that gladly. It'll be the easiest job in the world."
In another vote, NFL owners approved a proposal to allow teams to declare an onside kick at any time during a game when they are trailing. Players on the kicking team also will be lined up with their front foot on the 35-yard line with the rule change, 1 yard closer than previously.
Wednesday's tush push vote came after the league tabled discussions on the original proposal, submitted by the Green Bay Packers, last month at the NFL's annual league meeting in Palm Beach, Florida.
The original proposal was written explicitly around the tush push play. Before the proposal was tabled, the vote was split 16-16 among the 32 teams, sources told ESPN's Kalyn Kahler.
The Packers resubmitted the proposal before the start of the spring meeting, revising the language to more broadly ban pushing or pulling the ball carrier anywhere on the field. In the proposal's updated language, "offensive players cannot assist the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him." The Packers also eliminated "immediately at the snap" in the updated language.
The tush push appeared in only 0.28% of total plays last year, according to ESPN Research, but the Eagles and Buffalo Bills ran the play more often than other teams. The two combined to run 163 pushes in the past three seasons, more than the rest of the NFL combined, according to ESPN Research.
Not only did the Eagles and Bills run the play the most often, but they were also the most successful. They scored a touchdown or achieved a first down on 87% of their tush push attempts, according to ESPN Research, while the rest of the league was successful 71% of the time.