Donald Tr::ump Wants The NFL To Change 3 Things Before 2026 Kickoff

Donald Trump is once again pressuring the NFL to rethink some of its biggest decisions before the 2026 season gets underway.

With kickoff less than two months away, Trump has returned to three subjects he has repeatedly raised when discussing professional football. He wants the league to abandon its modified kickoff format, reduce the number of games placed exclusively on streaming platforms and reconsider what the sport should be called.

The final proposal is easily the most unusual of the three.

Trump believes the word “football” makes more sense for the sport known as soccer in the United States, since that is what most other countries call it. As a result, he has suggested that the NFL version of the game may need a different name.

“When you look at what’s happened to football in the United States, soccer in the United States. We seem to never call it that because we have a conflict with another thing that’s called football,” Trump said.

“But when you think about it, shouldn’t it really be called? This is football, there is no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff.”

It is unclear what alternative name Trump would prefer for the NFL’s version of the sport. His comments were directed more toward the confusion surrounding the word “football” than toward a specific rebranding plan.

Still, the suggestion quickly stood out because the NFL has operated under its current name for more than a century. Changing it would involve far more than updating a logo or replacing a few signs outside league offices.

Trump’s history with professional football may help explain why he continues to take such an interest in the league.

He has publicly discussed the NFL for decades and previously attempted to purchase the Buffalo Bills. That bid was unsuccessful, but his opinions about the sport, its business decisions and its rules have remained a regular part of his public commentary.

Of the three changes he is currently pushing, his strongest criticism has been directed at the NFL’s kickoff format.

Trump Wants The Dynamic Kickoff Removed

The NFL introduced the modified kickoff in an effort to create more returns while reducing the number of dangerous high-speed collisions.

Under the format, most players on the coverage and return teams line up much closer together and are not permitted to move until the ball reaches the returner or lands in a designated area.

Supporters of the rule believe it can make kickoffs safer without removing them from the game entirely. Trump sees it very differently.

He has repeatedly criticized the setup, calling it “ridiculous” and arguing that it takes “the pageantry and glamour away from the game.”

Photo credit: Josh Morgan-USA TODAY via Imagn Images

To Trump, the traditional kickoff was one of the sport’s most recognizable moments. Players sprinting down the field immediately after the ball was kicked created the kind of speed and anticipation that helped set the tone for a game.

The modified version can look strange by comparison. Players remain still for several seconds before the play begins, creating a formation that some viewers have described as awkward or overly complicated.

Trump has brought up the complaint in interviews, podcast appearances and social media posts. His repeated comments suggest that this is not simply a passing frustration with one unusual-looking play.

However, not everyone around the NFL agrees with his assessment.

Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub previously pushed back against Trump’s criticism, arguing that he did not fully understand how the rule worked or why the league introduced it.

The disagreement reflects the larger debate surrounding the kickoff. Some fans miss the speed and unpredictability of the traditional format, while coaches and league officials must also consider the injury risk created by players colliding after long running starts.

Trump appears less interested in modifying the new system than eliminating it altogether.

He Also Wants Fewer Games Locked Behind Streaming Services

Trump’s second complaint concerns the NFL’s growing relationship with streaming platforms.

More games have moved away from traditional television in recent years, requiring viewers to subscribe to different services depending on the matchup and the day it is being played.

For fans who already pay for cable or satellite television, those additional subscriptions can make following an entire season more expensive and complicated.

Trump has argued that many supporters cannot afford to keep paying for new platforms just to watch football.

According to him, some fans “don’t make enough money to go and pay this.”

His concern is that the NFL could gradually damage its audience by placing too much content behind separate paywalls. A fan who once needed access to only a few television networks may now need multiple subscriptions to avoid missing certain games.

[IMAGE 2 HERE – An NFL game being promoted on a streaming platform]

Unlike his proposed name change, Trump’s complaint about streaming has received some support from football viewers.

Fans regularly express frustration when games are placed exclusively on services they do not already use. Even those who accept streaming as part of modern sports broadcasting may object to paying for several platforms during the same season.

For the NFL, streaming agreements offer significant financial value and access to viewers who no longer watch traditional television. The league is unlikely to abandon those partnerships, but Trump wants it to place tighter limits on how many games are moved away from widely available broadcasts.

His argument is that short-term media revenue could come at the cost of long-term accessibility.

The Name Change Is His Most Unexpected Proposal

Trump’s third idea would be far more difficult to carry out.

He believes soccer deserves to be called football in the United States because players primarily use their feet, while the NFL game involves carrying and throwing the ball for much of each play.

That logic has led him to suggest that American football should receive a different name.

Photo credit: Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The proposal is unlikely to gain much support from the NFL or its fans. The league’s name is tied to decades of history, team branding, television agreements and commercial partnerships.

There is also no sign that NFL leadership is seriously considering a rebrand.

Trump’s comments nevertheless added another issue to his growing list of complaints about the league. He has previously criticized NFL policies, player protests and other decisions made by team owners and league officials.

He even connected his frustration with the kickoff format to the debate surrounding Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame treatment earlier in the year.

Whether those subjects are directly related is questionable, but Trump has continued to use them as examples of what he believes the NFL is getting wrong.

His latest demands arrive as teams prepare for training camp and the start of the 2026 season. The league has shown no indication that it plans to make any of the three changes before opening weekend.

The dynamic kickoff remains part of the game, streaming continues to play a major role in the NFL’s broadcast strategy and the National Football League is almost certainly keeping its name.

That has not stopped Trump from continuing to apply public pressure.

Of the three proposals, reducing the cost and complexity of watching games may resonate most strongly with fans. His criticism of the kickoff rule remains divisive, while the idea of renaming the sport is likely to generate more jokes than serious discussion.

For now, the NFL appears ready to begin another season without adopting Trump’s preferred changes.

Trump, meanwhile, does not appear ready to stop talking about them.