Eliminate All "Half The Distance To The Goal" Penalties

This proposal would eliminate most uses of the “half the distance to the goal line” rule in football. Instead of reducing a penalty simply because the team is close to its own or the opponent’s goal line, officials would enforce the full yardage whenever there is enough field available to do so. For example, if an offense commits a five-yard false start from its own six-yard line, the current rule moves the ball only half the distance, to the three-yard line. Under this proposal, the full five-yard penalty would be enforced and the ball would be placed at the one-yard line. If the full penalty yardage would move the ball into the end zone, the ball would simply be placed at the one-yard line instead. So a 15-yard defensive facemask committed at the offense’s eight-yard line would move the ball to the one rather than only half the distance to the four-yard line. The proposal would not create any new automatic touchdowns or safeties, and it would not change existing end-zone penalties that already result in a safety. The goal is to make penalty enforcement more consistent and preserve the intended deterrent effect of yardage penalties near the goal line.