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Short kickoff in gridiron football to try to keep possession of the ball

In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team kicks the ball far downfield in order to maximize the distance the receiving team has to advance the ball in order to score. The risk to the team attempting an onside kick is that if it is unsuccessful the receiving team gets the ball and usually has a much better field position than with a normal kickoff. The onside kick has a low success rate, though its chances of success increase in a situation where the returning team does not expect it. It is generally only seen late in a game when a team has just scored but is still trailing by 8 points or fewer (the most points that can be scored on a single possession) and needs to regain possession in order to score again before time expires.

Gridiron football originates in rugby football and so does the onside kick. In rugby, while the forward pass is prohibited, a team in possession may legally kick the ball downfield and recapture possession, provided that the receiver of the kick was onside when the kick was made (i. e., abreast with or behind the kicker.) This form of onside kick is still legal in Canadian football, just as in rugby. A player of the kicking team (at any kick, not just a free kick) who is "onside" may recover the ball and retain possession for his team. This includes the kicker himself and anyone else behind the ball at the time it was kicked, other than the holder for a place kick. The form of onside kick available at a free kick in American football is also available in Canadian football for a kickoff as well, although it is referred to as a short kick, as all players are onside for a kickoff; however, the kick may well be chipped high instead of bounced, because the players of the receiving team have no particular first right to the ball as in American football (due to the fair catch rule); both sides may play the ball equally, even in the air.

There have been versions of American football where the kicking team could recover the ball once it hit the ground, regardless of onside or offside, and not only for free kicks. Any such kick recovered by the kicking team is often referred to as an "onside kick," even if the recovering player was in front of the kicker at the time of the kick (and thus, according to the original definition, offside). One such scenario remains legal at all levels: any player on the offensive team can recover a kick anywhere on or behind the line of scrimmage.

One such version, Arena football, is current; however, it must be taken from either a place kick or drop kick, because punts are illegal in that league. Arena football also has the advantage in that it features rebound nets surrounding the goal posts; thus, unlike in the outdoor game, a potential onside kick receiver does not have to outrun the speed of the kicked ball, and the kicker can carom the ball off the net in hopes of it landing in his teammate's arms. The XFL, in its 2001 season, allowed a punting team to recover its own kick if the punt went at least 25 yards past the line of scrimmage. The 2020 revival of the XFL did not revive this rule. The idea of the early 20th century, XFL, and Arena rules allowing kicking side recovery on grounded balls was generally to force the receiving team to play the ball, encourage surprise quick kicking, and thereby loosen the defense. However, kicks have rarely been employed as offensive tactics even when these rules were present; the forward pass remains the more effective (and substantially less risky) tactic to loosen and surprise the defense.

Most kick offs in rugby union are similar to the onside kick: the kick off is directed a minimum of ten metres forward and both teams attempt to recover the ball. In both codes of rugby during live play, the bomb or "up and under" involves kicking the ball forward with a very high trajectory then the kicker and other on side players rushing forward in an attempt to recover the ball.