NFL changes rules for unsportsmanlike ejections, touchbacks

BOCA RATON, Fla. - NFL owners approved proposals Wednesday to automatically eject any player penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct in the same game and to move the spot of the football to the 25-yard line for touchbacks on kickoffs.

The measures will go into effect next season.

The owners ratified the proposals, both endorsed by the NFL's competition committee, on the final day of the annual league meeting.

Coaches had raised objections Tuesday to both measures. But owners moved quickly Wednesday to ratify the proposals, ending their meeting after a little more than an hour.

The automatic ejection and touchback proposals were approved by the owners on a one-year basis. So they will be up for review following the 2016 season.

A proposal by the Baltimore Ravens to expand the list of plays subject to instant replay review was tabled by the owners for further discussion. The owners meet again in May.

The owners on Tuesday ratified proposals to ban the chop block and to make the longer extra point, put into effect last season, a permanent rule.