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How does deferring an NFL coin-toss choice differ from choosing to kick?
Deferring saves the toss winner’s first selection for the second half. Choosing to kick uses one of the two opening privileges right away; the losing team takes the other privilege, then has first choice before the second half unless the winner deferred or a team lost its half-choice options.
For NFL viewers who want to reconstruct each half's kickoff election from stipulated choices without assuming a coin-toss winner automatically receives. · Updated
The toss winner chooses between two privileges
For the regulation opening kickoff, the referee tosses a coin at midfield within three minutes before the first-half kickoff. Before the toss, the visiting captain calls heads or tails; if there is no home team, the referee designates the captain who calls it. Only one captain per team may declare that team’s option.
Unless the winner defers, that team uses its opening privilege to choose either who kicks or receives, or which goal it will defend. The toss loser gets the other privilege. Kick/receive and defended goal are two alternatives, not three separate first choices.
- Choose kick or receive, and the other team chooses the defended goal.
- Choose a defended goal, and the other team chooses who kicks or receives.
Deferring saves first selection for the second half
When the toss winner defers, it leaves its first selection unused until the second half. The toss loser makes the first-half selection, and the winner gets the complementary privilege for that half.
Immediately before the second half, both captains report their choices to the referee. The deferred winner then chooses first between the two privileges; its opponent uses the one left over. The rule also identifies an exception when a team has lost its first- and second-half options, so the ordinary order should not be applied to that case.
A captain’s first selection from the alternatives is final. Choosing to kick is an exercised opening choice; it does not reserve or restore a first selection for later.
Choosing to kick spends the opening choice
If the toss winner chooses to kick, the toss loser still receives the other opening privilege and may choose the defended goal. Because the winner did not defer, the toss loser ordinarily has first choice before the second half. It can select kick/receive or a goal, and the toss winner takes the remaining privilege.
That sequence can leave the original winner kicking both opening-half kickoffs, but only when the stated second-half choices produce that result. The rule describes who chooses; it does not say that kicking first is better or recommend a strategy.
A retoss and a quarter-end switch are separate
If the coin does not turn over in the air or the toss is compromised, the referee tosses again and the original heads-or-tails call may not be changed. That procedure repeats the physical toss; it does not reopen a completed election.
Teams also change goals after the first and third periods. Possession, the succeeding down, the ball’s relative field position, and the line to gain remain the same. This quarter-end change is separate from the second-half privilege choice.
Three stipulated coin-toss situations
Assume two separate anonymous regulation games with lawful captains, a valid toss two minutes before kickoff, no lost half-choice options, and the opponent exercising the other privilege in each half. In Game A, Team A wins and defers; Team B chooses to receive first, and A chooses the defended goal. Before the second half, A has first selection and chooses to receive, leaving the goal choice to B. A therefore kicks first and receives after halftime in this stipulated sequence. In Game B, A wins and chooses to kick; B chooses the goal. Since A used its opening choice instead of deferring, B has first selection before the second half and chooses to receive; A takes the goal choice. A kicks both opening-half kickoffs in this example. In a separate toss, the visiting captain calls heads but the coin never turns over; the referee repeats the toss with the heads call unchanged. No actual game, election record, result, or strategic effect is represented.
Related questions
Does winning the NFL coin toss automatically mean receiving?
No. The winner chooses between the kick/receive privilege and the defended-goal privilege unless it defers. The loser receives the other privilege.
If the winner chooses to kick, is that a deferral?
No. Choosing to kick uses the opening privilege. A deferral saves the winner’s first selection for the second half.
What happens if the coin does not turn over?
The referee repeats the toss if the coin does not turn over in the air or the toss is compromised. The original heads-or-tails call may not be changed.
Do teams make a new toss choice when they switch goals after a quarter?
No. After the first and third periods, teams change goals while possession, the succeeding down, relative ball position, and the line to gain remain the same.