NFL MEETINGS : Owners Vote to Reduce Time Between Plays, Increase Rosters

On the third afternoon of their annual convention, the NFL’s club owners had the last word Tuesday on four proposed changes in pro football:

--They voted, 26-2, to get more plays into their games by replacing last season’s 45-second clock with one permitting only 40 seconds between plays. There were fewer plays on the average last season than in any other NFL season.

--They voted, 26-2, to increase the roster limit from 47 to 53 and to bench all players put on injured reserve for the entire season. Last year, those with minor injuries could return from the reserve list after four weeks. Again this year, each team may suit up 45 players plus an emergency quarterback.

In effect, the average NFL team will be employing 45 active players, a No. 3 quarterback, and seven inactive players. The inactive list will probably differ from week to week. An additional five-man practice squad has again been authorized.

--They voted down kickoffs from the 30-yard line. Teams will be kicking off, as usual, from the 35-yard line.

--They agreed to allow family corporate ownership, provided the corporation puts the ballclub in a separate football company. In effect, they validated Eddie DeBartolo’s San Francisco 49er arrangement. Several years ago, when DeBartolo did it, he was heavily fined. Now he is the model.

Of the clock change, Buffalo Coach Marv Levy said: “There was nothing wrong with 45 seconds. Most of the time, the ball was snapped before 40. This won’t add as many plays as they think.”

The league also announced that it will choose two expansion cities this fall, probably St. Louis and Memphis or Charlotte. When they begin play in 1995, the NFL will be a 30-team league with five teams in each of six divisions, meaning that there probably will be no further expansion in the 20th Century.