Original source (on modern site)
The Steelers voted in favor of the NFL's new kickoff rule, but more to go along with what the league wanted than because they're enthusiastically in favor of it. Steelers owner Art Rooney II said that once it was obvious the league had secured the necessary 24 votes for the kickoff rule to change, he decided he'd side with the consensus opinion. "We wound up voting for it after it was a foregone conclusion that it was going to pass," Rooney II said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Rooney said "there was not a lot of enthusiasm to start" because of how significant a change to kickoffs that the new rule represents. "It's a dramatic change, no way around that," Rooney said. "We had some reservations because of that. It's going to be interesting." Ultimately, the 49ers, Raiders and Packers were the only teams to vote against the kickoff rule.