NFL owners agree to shorten OT to 10 minutes

— -- NFL owners have approved a rule change that will shorten the regular-season overtime period from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, a league official told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The proposal was made with safety in mind in that the shorter OT period would limit extra snaps.?Last season, there were six overtime games in which the extra period lasted more than 10 minutes -- the second-highest total in NFL history.

Owners debated the overtime proposal during meetings in Phoenix in March but tabled it for further discussion.