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Pass interference protection ends when the ball is touched by or touches a player, and it seems likely the rules that were adopted for kicks and passes intended the same thing. Of course you never know when some years separate the adoption of the provisions, the example being in the other thread of the non-expanded neutral zone for purposes of determining whether R has touched a field goal attempt on their side of their line of scrimmage.
In NFL rules (probably an older wording of NCAA rules) the protection is described as "opportunity to make a fair catch", assuming the fiction that the receiver might up until the last instant be able to signal for one.
Robert
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