Steelers' Art Rooney II Says Onside Kick Alternative Was 'Too Much of a Gimmick'

Earlier Thursday, NFL owners voted against replacing the onside kick with a 4th-and-15 attempt:

"I would say we're open to thinking about whether there's something we can do with the kickoff in a more traditional setting that might allow onside kicks to have a better chance of happening," Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II reasoned. "But this one was just a little bit too much of a gimmick. Coach [Mike] Tomlin and I just didn’t like the idea."

Atlanta Falcons CEO and president Rich McKay also offered insight:

Below is exactly what was voted on:

Owners approved three rule-change proposals for 2020:

The 4th-and-15 alternative not being among them isn't all that surprising given a similar idea proposed by the Denver Broncos was;rejectedin March 2019.

However, there seems to be a growing understanding within the league that the onside kick needs to at least be improved based upon declining recovery rates:

Last season, according to NFL.com's Grant Gordon, eight of 63 onside attempts (12.7 percent) were recovered.