- NFL fans, sports fans support the controversial play
- Majority of NFL fans correctly identify the play
The Seton Hall Sports Poll reveals keeping the Tush Push alive for the 2026 NFL regular season is favored by a margin of nearly two to one among Americans (34% to 19%), self-described sports fans (48% to 24%) and NFL fans (48% to 24%). Last May the Tush Push survived a vote of team owners when a proposal to ban the controversial play garnered 22 of 32 owners’ support – two votes short of the necessary 24 for a rule change.
When asked: The “Tush Push” is an unfair NFL play and should be banned. Do you agree, 34 percent of Americans say yes while only 19 percent say no. For both sports fans and NFL fans, the support for the ban sits at 24 percent while almost half (48%) is in favor of keeping the play.
The “Tush Push” is an unfair NFL play and should be banned. Do you agree?
“Has any singular play been discussed more than the Tush Push?” said Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., Methodologist of the Seton Hall Sports Poll and Associate Marketing Professor in the Stillman School of Business. “Most closely tied to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Tush Push is where fans disagree with a majority of NFL owners.”
These results are derived from a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted October 3rd-6th among 1,519 adults. The Poll, which is sponsored by The Sharkey Institute within Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business, features a nationally representative sample from YouGov Plc., weighted on U.S. Census Bureau figures for age, gender, ethnicity, education, income and geography with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent.
Americans Know the Play
The Poll first asked respondents if they could identify the Tush Push blindly. Thirty-nine percent of Americans, 58 percent of NFL fans, and 69 percent of avid sports fans correctly identified it as an “NFL Quarterback Sneak Play.”
The Athletic recently reported that 84 percent of the NFL players asked were against banning the play, in alignment with the American public. The clear support for the play among NFL players and fans alike is in direct contrast with the 69 percent of NFL owners who voted for the ban.
What is the Tush Push?
October 2025 Seton Hall Sports Poll
Daniel Ladik, Ph.D., Chief Methodologist – Daniel.ladik@shu.edu
This SHSP was conducted October 3rd through 6th and includes responses from 1,519 U.S. adults with a margin of error of 2.5 %. The sample mirrors the U.S. Census percentages on age, gender, income, education, ethnicity, and region.
Q1. Which of the following statements best describes you?
*Note: Presented in each table, Avid + Casual = total sports fandom in the data. Some tables break out the Avid and Casual segments.
Q2. What is the Tush Push?
The “Tush Push” is an NFL play (i.e., a modified quarterback sneak), where two or more players push the quarterback from behind after the snap of the football.
Q10a. The “Tush Push” is an unfair NFL play and should be banned. Do you agree?
Q15. How interested, if at all, are you in the following Sports/Leagues? For each sport/ league please select your level of interest.
National Football League
