Football Safety Kick
What is a Safety Kick in Football?
A safety kick in football is a kickoff that happens after a safety is scored. Not many football fans know what a safety kick is and how it's different from a normal kickoff. Both kickoffs work the same, but if you look carefully, the players line up on the field in different positions. In the NFL, a tee cannot be used to kick a safety kick, but they may be used in college and high school play.
What is a Safety in Football?
A safety happens when a team retreats into their own end zone with the ball and commits a foul or causes the ball to become dead or go out of bounds. The opposing team gets two points for this mistake. It's the only way the team on defense can score points in football.
Safety Kick Restraining Lines
Kickoffs happen behind restraining lines. Restraining lines show where the kicking team and receiving team must line up on the field before the kick.
On a safety kick, the restraining line for the kicking team is its own 20-yard line, and the restraining line for the receiving team is 10 yards away, on the 30-yard line. These positions are 15 yards closer to the kicking team’s end zone than in a regular kickoff, in which the kicking and receiving teams are restrained behind the 35 and 45-yard line, respectively.
FAQ
Who kicks off after a safety?
After a safety, the team that was scored upon must kick to the team that scored the safety, which will receive the kick. As you can see, getting a safety is one of the greatest accomplishments for a defense, as they score two points, get a turnover, and give their offense a favorable field position.