NFL Updates Video-Board Rules After Belichick-Era Patriots Kicking Tactic Revealed

The NFL is closing the door on video-board gamesmanship after revelations about a tactic used during Bill Belichick’s tenure with the New England Patriots.

In a memo sent to teams Sept. 7 and obtained by ESPN, the league said it is changing what clubs may display on video boards during field-goal and extra-point attempts. Teams must now use either the same All-22 angle—a high-sideline or high-end zone view—or a static image for both teams when they are kicking.

Any violation of the revised rule would draw punishment, according to ESPN.

The change follows a viral social media post from former analytics coach Ryan Paganetti, who detailed a Patriots field-goal strategy that gave New England a subtle edge during Belichick’s long run coaching the team.

Paganetti, a former analytics coach with the Eagles, Jaguars and Raiders, reviewed a decade of Patriots broadcasts and posted his findings on X earlier this month. By Sunday, the post had drawn 17.2 million views.

According to Paganetti, the eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach had Gillette Stadium’s video board show a reversed view of kicks, creating a second, offset set of yellow uprights behind the real goalposts before opponents’ field-goal and extra-point attempts.

The display left kickers looking at what appeared to be four yellow bars as they prepared to attempt a kick.

Paganetti posted multiple screenshots on X showing kickers lining up while the stadium display showed an additional pair of yellow uprights. At the time, NFL rules required video boards to show a static image during kicks, with no flashing, video or moving images permitted.

ESPN reported that the NFL said Belichick and the Patriots did not violate the rules then in effect.

Paganetti also said New England’s own kickers were not affected in the 52 Patriots attempts he reviewed.

“When opposing kickers lined up at Gillette Stadium, the video board displayed a reverse view of the kick, placing a second, offset set of yellow uprights directly behind the real ones,” Paganetti posted on X. “In windy conditions, even the orange streamers on the video board appeared to point in the opposite direction from those atop the physical uprights, making the illusion even more disorienting. I found dozens of examples.”

“It is the perfect encapsulation of the Patriots dynasty,” he added. “No detail was too small, and no possible edge was left unexplored.”

With the new rule in place, NFL teams will need to find other legal ways to gain an edge through their video boards.

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