What is a hip drop tackle and what are the NFL rules that outlaw it? Here's a breakdown

The hip drop tackle got a lot of press in the past few years of NFL action.

The technique saw players getting injured when wrapped up from behind and a defender would fall to bring the ball-carrier down, but when the ban on the hip drop came earlier in 2024, players themselves were mad.

So if you see a tackler getting flagged, let’s help you understand the rule that led to that.

The NFL describes it this way: “A hip-drop tackle occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.”

As for spelling out the penalty? Here’s the rule:

A hip-drop tackle will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first-down if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground:

1. Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and

2. Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.

There you go.