Icons Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark on key panel at NFL’s annual meeting

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and owner Arthur Blank will be available to explain the offseason moves, provide a Kirk Cousins update, discuss how they plan to stop the streak of seven consecutive losing seasons and explain the economics of raising ticket prices.

The AFC head coaches will be available on Monday, while Morris and the NFC coaches will talk to the media on Tuesday.

Williams and Clark were set to be featured on a panel discussion hosted by Mellody Hobson, part owner of the Denver Broncos, to discuss the growth of women’s sports. Former NFL quarterback Eli Manning was also set to be on the panel.

The NFL is closely watching the growth of women’s flag football and noted its growth in Georgia in the high school and collegiate ranks.

“The NFL is certainly interested in learning from the experience of some of the greatest athletes who have ever lived,” said Jeff Miller, the NFL’s vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, of Williams and Clark. “The owners, the clubs, are interested in learning more.”

Women’s and men’s flag football is set to debut in the 2028 Olympic summer games.

The league’s competition committee will make a recommendation that the dynamic kickoff, which debuted last season on a one-year trial basis, be adapted long-term.

There were 332 kickoff returns, more touchdowns and fewer injuries, according to Miller.

“The good parts of the game, 105th season,” said Rich McKay, Falcons CEO and chair of the league’s competition committee. “Another really competitive year. We had four new playoffs teams and that’s 35 years in a row that we’ve had four new playoff teams. Three of those four were worst-to-first. They were last in their division the year before and made it to first.”

The turnover in playoff teams embodies the competitive balance around the league. The Falcons have not reached the playoffs since after the 2017 season. Only the Jets (14 seasons) have a longer playoff drought than the Falcons.

“That’s how we set up our schedule,” McKay said of competitive balance. “That’s how we set up our rules. That’s how we want to operate and that’s what those numbers reflect.”

The league came up with other numbers that support the competitive balance concept.

“Statistically -- plays per games (151), points per game were up 45.82, which is above average for us,” McKay said. “I have to believe that the kickoff and therefore the drive-start number impacted that for sure. It’s a good number for us. Margin of victory remained at 11.2.”

The league is fine with the margin victory average.

“That’s kind of a historical average for us, right at 11,” McKay said. “We’d love to be in the 10s. We don’t want to be in the 13s or 14s. That’s a good number for us. So, the game statistically is in a pretty good place. When you meet with the coaches’ sub-committee, the GM sub-committee, look at the statistics, that’s why you see a year where there’s not a ton of proposals on the table”

Here are the five playing proposals:

--Make the dynamic kickoff play permanent with a change to make the touchback the 35-yard line. Also, the kicking team can declare an onside kick at any time during the game if trailing its opponent.

-- The Eagles are advocating for the playoff overtime rule be adopted for the regular season that allow both teams opportunities to possess the football.

--The competition committee is advocating for an expansion of the instant replay assist when clear and obvious video evidence is present.

Legalized sports betting was cited by Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, as reason to get calls right and do it with transparency.

“And a phantom foul, a flag is thrown — just imagine you, yourself, just thinking about, ‘Where did that come from?’ " Vincent said. “And it just creates all kind of speculation.”

--The Lions want to eliminate automatic first-downs as a penalty for defensive holding and illegal contact.

--The Packers want to ban the pushing of the quarterback on the quarterback sneak play, which has been referred to as the “tush push.”

Morris stated his opposition to the play at the scouting combine.

“I thought it should have been illegal three years ago,” Morris said. “The Tush Push play, I was never a big fan. There’s just no other play in our game where you can absolutely get behind somebody and push them.”