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The NFL's competition committee has handed down its rule changes for the coming season and their latest idea to improve the quality of the game is?
Penalize players for dunking on the goal posts.
From here on out, dunking the football like a basketball in celebration of a touchdown will be a 15 yard penalty. NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino says that using the ball as a prop was already illegal, but the dunking was previously being tolerated. Not anymore!
"That was grandfathered in. We put in a rule about five or six years ago about using the ball as a prop," Blandino said. "We grandfathered in the Lambeau Leap and some things like that. But dunking will come out. Using the ball as a prop -- or using any object as a prop, like the goal post or cross bar -- that will come out and that will be a foul next season."
As CBS' Will Brinson points out, the impetus for the change is likely to the possible damage to the goal post, as happened last year when Jimmy Graham bent it after a dunk. Having to fix it can lead to awkward delays.
No word on whether the Donovan McNabb style goal post jump shot will still be legal.