When a punt goes into the endzone in American football, it’s almost always ruled a touchback , and the receiving team starts on their own 20-yard line (NFL and most standard rulesets).

Quick Scoop: Core Rule

  • If a punt crosses the goal line into the endzone and is not possessed and returned out by the receiving team, it becomes a touchback.
  • On a touchback from a punt, the receiving team takes the ball at its own 20-yard line (not the 25 like many kickoffs).
  • This is why punters try “coffin corner” punts that stop just short of the endzone instead of booming it straight in.

What Can the Receiving Team Do?

The receiving team isn’t stuck with a touchback the moment the ball breaks the plane in most modern adult rulesets:

  • They can:
    • Catch the punt in the endzone and choose to run it out.
    • Pick up a bouncing punt in the endzone and try to return it.
  • If they are tackled in their own endzone after possessing the ball in the field of play and fumbling it back, that can be a safety , but if they never had full possession before it went into the endzone, the usual result is a touchback , not a safety.

Example:
If the returner muffs (tips/touches but never controls) a punt, it rolls into the endzone, and he then recovers and downs it there, it’s still a touchback at the 20, not a safety.

What About the Kicking Team?

The kicking (punting) team has some tricky restrictions near the goal line:

  • If they touch or “down” the ball before it reaches the endzone, it’s spotted there (great for pinning the opponent deep).
  • If any part of a kicking team player is on or beyond the goal line (in or over the endzone) when he touches the ball, it’s a touchback.
  • Players can jump from the field of play into the air over the endzone and bat the ball back, but if they touch the ground in the endzone while touching the ball, that kills the play as a touchback.

This is why you sometimes see a gunner sprint downfield, jump from the field, swat the ball back, and try to keep it from breaking the plane.

Punts vs. Kickoffs (Why It’s Different)

People often mix up punt rules with the newer, safer kickoff rules:

  • Modern NFL-style kickoffs:
    • Kick into the endzone and down it → ball often comes out to the 25 or 30, depending on the current rule variant.
  • Punts:
    • Punt into the endzone → touchback to the 20, basically every time unless the returner successfully brings it out.

So in terms of field position, punting into the endzone “gives away” yards compared with pinning them inside the 10.

Simple TL;DR

  • Punt goes into endzone and is not brought out by returner → touchback , ball on receiving team’s 20-yard line.
  • Kicking team touching it in or on the endzone while trying to save it → touchback.
  • Returner can run it out if they cleanly catch or recover it, but if they just let it roll dead in the endzone, it’s a touchback.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.