American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a
team sport
A team sport includes any sport where individuals are organized into opposing sports team, teams which compete to win or cooperate to entertain their audience. Team members act together towards a shared objective. This can be done in a numb ...
played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular
field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
with goalposts at each end. The
offense
Offense or offence may refer to:
Common meanings
* Offense or crime, a violation of penal law
* An insult, or negative feeling in response to a perceived insult
* An attack, a proactive offensive engagement
* Sin, an act that violates a known m ...
, the team with possession of the oval-shaped
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, attempts to advance down the field by
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they
turn over
''Turn Over'' is the first live album of the Japanese rock group Show-Ya. It is a collection of live songs recorded during concerts from the "Date Line Tour" and "Immigration Tour" in 1987, and from the "Tour of the Immigrant" in 1988. The album ...
the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the
drive
Drive or The Drive may refer to:
Motoring
* Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle
* Road trip, a journey on roads
Roadways
Roadways called "drives" may include:
* Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive"
...
. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's
end zone
The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...
for a
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...
. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.
American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
. The first American football match was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams,
Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
and
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from
1880
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia.
* January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy.
* February †...
onward by
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
, the "Father of American Football", established the
snap
Snap or SNAP may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind''
*''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme
* ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...
, the
line of scrimmage
In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...
, eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the
forward pass
In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of
sport in the United States
Sports are an important part of culture in the United States. Historically, the national sport has been baseball. However, in more recent decades, American football has been the most popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership audience. B ...
in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of the game are
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
and
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
, with the other major levels being
high-school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
and youth football. , nearly 1.1 million high-school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually. The
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
, ranks among the most-watched club sporting events in the world. The league has an annual revenue of around US$15 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
or
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
.
Etymology and names
In the United States, American football is referred to as "football". The term "football" was officially established in the rulebook for the
1876 college football season
The 1876 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing Yale as having been selected national champions. On November 11, organized intercollegiate football was first played i ...
, when the sport first shifted from soccer-style rules to rugby-style rules. Although it could easily have been called "rugby" at this point, Harvard, one of the primary proponents of the rugby-style game, compromised and did not request the name of the sport be changed to "rugby". The terms " gridiron" or "American football" are favored in English-speaking countries where other types of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.
History
Early history
American football evolved from the sports of
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
. Rugby, like American football, is a sport where two competing teams vie for control of a ball, which can be kicked through a set of goalposts or run into the opponent's goal area to score points.
What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869, between
Rutgers
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...
and
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...
, two college teams. They consisted of 25 players per team and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, with the objective being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6–4. Collegiate play continued for several years with matches played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873, to create a standard set of rules for use by all schools. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of were specified. Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. After playing
using both Canadian and American rules, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style of having only 11 men on the field, running the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of a round ball.
An 1875 Harvard–Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two Princeton athletes who were impressed by it. They introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the
Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...
compared to "selling
refrigerator
A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
s to
Eskimo
Eskimo () is an exonym used to refer to two closely related Indigenous peoples: the Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Greenlandic Inuit, and the Canadian Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Siberian Yupik, Yuit) of eastern Si ...
s". Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia then agreed to intercollegiate play using a form of
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the
Intercollegiate Football Association
The Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA), also known as the American Intercollegiate Football Association, was one of the earliest college football rules-making and scheduling organizations in existence; it was active from the 1873 to 1893 ...
, although Yale did not join until 1879. Yale player
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
, now regarded as the "Father of American Football", secured rule changes in 1880 that reduced the size of each team from 15 to 11 players and instituted the
snap
Snap or SNAP may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind''
*''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme
* ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...
to replace the chaotic and inconsistent
scrum
Scrum may refer to:
Sport
* Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league
** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union
* Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi
Media and popular culture
* M ...
. While the game between Rutgers and Princeton is commonly considered the first American football game, several years prior in 1862, the
line of scrimmage
In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...
was instituted.
Despite these new rules, football remained a violent sport. Dangerous mass-formations like the
flying wedge
A flying wedge (also called flying V or wedge formation, or simply wedge) is a configuration created from a body moving forward in a triangular formation. This V-shaped arrangement began as a successful military strategy in ancient times when inf ...
resulted in serious injuries and deaths. A 1905 peak of 19 fatalities nationwide resulted in a threat by President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
to abolish the game unless major changes were made. In response, 62 colleges and universities met in New York City to discuss rule changes on December 28, 1905. These proceedings resulted in the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later renamed the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA).
The legal
forward pass
In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...
was introduced in 1906, although its effect was initially minimal due to the restrictions placed on its use. The idea of a 40-yard-wider field was opposed by Harvard due to the size of the new
Harvard Stadium
Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the northeast United States, located in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned and operated by Harvard University and is home to the Harvard Crimson footba ...
. Other rule changes introduced that year included the reduction of playing time from 70 to 60 minutes and an increase of the distance required for a first down from . To reduce infighting and dirty play between teams, the neutral zone was created along the width of the football before the snap. Scoring was also adjusted: points awarded for field goals were reduced to three in 1909 and points for touchdowns were raised to six in 1912. Also in 1912, the field was shortened to long, two end zones were created, and teams were given four downs instead of three to advance the ball . The
roughing the passer
In gridiron football, roughing the passer is a foul in which a defensive player makes illegal contact with the quarterback after the latter has thrown a forward pass. The penalty is 10 or 15 yards, depending on the league, and an automatic first d ...
penalty was implemented in 1914, and eligible players were first allowed to catch the ball anywhere on the field in 1918.
Professional era
On November 12, 1892,
Pudge Heffelfinger
William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger (December 20, 1867 – April 2, 1954), also spelled Hafelfinger, was an American football player and coach. He is considered the first athlete to play American football professionally, having been paid to pl ...
was paid $500 () to play a game for the
Allegheny Athletic Association
The Allegheny Athletic Association was an athletic club that fielded the first ever professional American football player and later the first fully professional football team. The organization was founded in 1890 as a regional athletic club in A ...
in a match against the
Pittsburgh Athletic Club
The Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) was one of the earliest professional ice hockey teams. It was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from around 1895 until 1904 and again from 1907 to 1909. The team was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey Le ...
. This is the first recorded instance of a player being paid to participate in a game of American football, although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered indirect benefits, such as helping players attain employment, giving out trophies or watches that players could pawn for money, or paying double in expense money. Despite these extra benefits, the game had a strict sense of amateurism at the time, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not prohibited outright.
Over time, professional play became increasingly common, and with it came rising salaries and unpredictable player movement, as well as the illegal payment of college players who were still in school. The
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. By 1922, the NFL had established itself as America's premier professional football league.
The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level. The upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925, however, when an NFL team, the
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Boston ...
exhibition game
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
. A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to distinguish itself further from the college game during the late 1930s. Football, in general, became increasingly popular following the
1958 NFL Championship game
The 1958 NFL Championship Game was the 26th NFL championship game, played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL playoff game to be decided in sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New ...
, a match between the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
and the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
that is still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major influence on the popularity of the sport. This, along with the innovations introduced by the new
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
(AFL) in the early 1960s, helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s.
The rival AFL arose in 1960 and challenged the NFL's dominance. The AFL began in relative obscurity but eventually thrived, with an initial television contract with the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
television network. The AFL's existence forced the conservative NFL to expand to Dallas and Minnesota in an attempt to destroy the new league. Meanwhile, the AFL introduced many new features to professional football in the United States: official time was kept on a scoreboard clock rather than on a watch in the referee's pocket, as the NFL did; optional two-point conversions by pass or run after touchdowns; names on the jerseys of players; and several others, including expansion of the role of minority players, actively recruited by the league in contrast to the NFL. The AFL also signed several star college players who had also been drafted by NFL teams. Competition for players heated up in 1965, when the AFL
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
signed rookie
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...
to a then-record $437,000 contract (equivalent to $ in ). A five-year, $40 million
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
television contract followed, which helped to sustain the young league. The bidding war for players ended in 1966 when NFL owners approached the AFL regarding a merger, and the two leagues agreed on one that took full effect in 1970. This agreement provided for a common draft that would take place each year, and it instituted an annual World Championship game to be played between the champions of each league. This championship game began play at the end of the 1966 season. Once the merger was completed, it was no longer a championship game between two leagues and reverted to the NFL championship game, which came to be known as the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
.
College football maintained a tradition of postseason
bowl games
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
. Each bowl game was associated with a particular conference and earning a spot in a bowl game was the reward for winning a conference. This arrangement was profitable, but it tended to prevent the two top-ranked teams from meeting in a true national championship game, as they would normally be committed to the bowl games of their respective conferences. Several systems have been used since 1992 to determine a national champion of college football. The first was the
Bowl Coalition
The College Football Bowl Coalition was formed through an agreement among Division I-A college football bowl games and conferences for the purpose of forcing a national championship game between the top two teams and to provide quality bowl game ...
, in place from 1992 to 1994. This was replaced in 1995 by the
Bowl Alliance
The Bowl Alliance was an agreement among college football bowl games (specifically the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls) for the purpose of trying to match the top two teams in a national championship game and to provide quality bowl game matchups ...
, which gave way in 1997 to the
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...
(CFP).
Teams and positions
A football game is played between two teams of 11 players each.NFL Rules 2012, p. 21.NFHS Rules 2012, p. 11. Playing with more on the field is punishable by a penalty.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 107.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 71–72. Teams may substitute any number of their players between downs;NFL Rules 2012, pp. 21–22.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 53–54.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 45–46. this "platoon" system replaced the original system, which featured limited substitution rules, and has resulted in teams utilizing specialized offensive, defensive and
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
units.
Individual players in a football game must be designated with a
uniform number
In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...
between 1 and 99. NFL teams are required to number their players by a league-approved numbering system, and any exceptions must be approved by the
commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
. NCAA and NFHS teams are "strongly advised" to number their offensive players according to a league-suggested numbering scheme.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 21–22.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 16–17.
Although the sport is played almost exclusively by men, women are eligible to play in high school, college, and professional football. No woman has ever played in the NFL, but women have played in high school and college football games. In 2018, 1,100 of the 225,000 players in
Pop Warner Little Scholars
Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a nonprofit organization that provides activities such as American football, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth footbal ...
youth football were girls, and around 11% of the 5.5 million Americans who report playing tackle football are female according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Women can also serve as officials; Sarah Thomas became the NFL's first female official in 2015.
Offensive unit
The role of the offensive unit is to advance the football down the field with the ultimate goal of scoring a
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
.
The offensive team must line up in a legal
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
before they can snap the ball. An offensive formation is considered illegal if there are more than four players in the
backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage. The offensive backfield can also refer to members of offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including any backs on the field, such as the q ...
or fewer than five players numbered 50–79 on the offensive line.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 15.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 21–24.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 57–58. Players can line up temporarily in a position whose eligibility is different from what their number permits as long as they report the change immediately to the referee, who then informs the defensive team of the change.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 36, 40. Neither team's players, except the
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
(C), are allowed to line up in or cross the neutral zone until the ball is snapped. Interior offensive linemen are not allowed to move until the snap of the ball.
The main backfield positions are the
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
(FB). The quarterback is the leader of the offense. Either the quarterback or a coach calls the plays. Quarterbacks typically inform the rest of the offense of the play in the
huddle
In sport, a huddle is the action of a team gathering together, usually in a tight circle, to strategize, motivate or celebrate. It is a popular strategy for keeping opponents insulated from sensitive information, and acts as a form of insulation ...
before the team lines up. The quarterback lines up behind the center to take the snap and then hands the ball off, throws it or runs with it.
The primary role of the halfback, also known as the
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
or tailback, is to carry the ball on running plays. Halfbacks may also serve as receivers. Fullbacks tend to be larger than halfbacks and function primarily as blockers, but they are sometimes used as runners in short-yardage situations and are seldom used in passing situations.
The
offensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
(OL) consists of several players whose primary function is to
block
Block or blocked may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting
* W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...
members of the defensive line from tackling the ball carrier on running plays or sacking the quarterback on passing plays. The leader of the offensive line is the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball to the quarterback, blocking, and for making sure that the other linemen do their jobs during the play. On either side of the center are the guards (G), while
tackles
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football
** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...
(T) line up outside the guards.
The principal receivers are the wide receivers (WR) and the
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
s (TE). Wide receivers line up on or near the line of scrimmage, split outside the line. The main goal of the wide receiver is to catch passes thrown by the quarterback, but they may also function as decoys or as blockers during running plays. Tight ends line up outside the tackles and function both as receivers and as blockers.
Defensive unit
The role of the defense is to prevent the offense from scoring by
tackling
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football
** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...
interception
In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...
s or
fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...
s).
The
defensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
(DL) consists of
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
s (DE) and
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
s (DT). Defensive ends line up on the ends of the line, while defensive tackles line up inside, between the defensive ends. The primary responsibilities of defensive ends and defensive tackles are to stop running plays on the outside and inside, respectively, to pressure the quarterback on passing plays, and to occupy the line so that the
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
s can break through.
Linebackers line up behind the defensive line but in front of the defensive backfield. They are divided into two types: middle linebackers (MLB) and outside linebackers (OLB). Linebackers are the defensive leaders and call the defensive plays. Their diverse roles include defending the run, pressuring the quarterback, and guarding backs, wide receivers and tight ends in the passing game.
The
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
field, often called the secondary, consists of
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
s (CB) and
safeties
Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk.
Safety may also refer to:
Places
* Safety Island, Antarctica
Government
* The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the ...
(S). Safeties are themselves divided into free safeties (FS) and strong safeties (SS). Cornerbacks line up outside the defensive formation, typically opposite a receiver to be able to cover them. Safeties line up between the cornerbacks but farther back in the secondary. Safeties are the last line of defense and are responsible for stopping deep passing plays as well as running plays.
Special teams unit
The special teams unit is responsible for all kicking plays. The special teams unit of the team in control of the ball tries to execute field goal (FG) attempts, punts and kickoffs, while the opposing team's unit will aim to block or return them.
Three positions are specific to the field goal and PAT (point-after-touchdown) unit: the
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
Spe ...
long snapper
In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...
(LS). The long snapper's job is to snap the football to the holder, who will catch and position it for the placekicker. There is not usually a holder on kickoffs, because the ball is kicked off a tee; however, a holder may be used in certain situations, such as if wind is preventing the ball from remaining upright on the tee. The player on the receiving team who catches the ball is known as the
kickoff returner
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
(KR).
The positions specific to punt plays are the punter (P), long snapper,
upback In American football, the upback (also known as the punt protector or personal protector) is a blocking back who lines up approximately 1–3 yards behind the line of scrimmage in punting situations.
Because the punter plays so far back, the upba ...
and gunner. The long snapper snaps the football directly to the punter, who then drops and kicks it before it hits the ground. Gunners line up split outside the line and race down the field, aiming to tackle the
punt returner
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...
(PR)—the player who catches the punt. Upbacks line up a short distance behind the line of scrimmage, providing additional protection to the punter.
Rules
Scoring
In football, the winner is the team that has scored more points at the end of the game. There are multiple ways to score in a football game. The touchdown (TD), worth six points, is the most valuable scoring play in American football. A touchdown is scored when a live ball is advanced into, caught in, or recovered in the opposing team's end zone. The scoring team then attempts a try or conversion, more commonly known as the point(s)-after-touchdown (PAT), which is a single scoring opportunity. A PAT is most commonly attempted from the two- or three-yard line, depending on the level of play. If a PAT is scored by a place kick or drop kick through the goal posts, it is worth one point, typically called the extra point. If it is scored by what would normally be a touchdown it is worth two points, typically called the
two-point conversion
In gridiron football, a two-point conversion or two-point convert is a play a team attempts instead of kicking a one-point conversion immediately after it scores a touchdown. In a two-point conversion attempt, the team that just scored must run ...
. In general, the extra point is almost always successful, while the two-point conversion is a much riskier play with a higher probability of failure; accordingly, extra point attempts are far more common than two-point conversion attempts.
A field goal (FG), worth three points, is scored when the ball is place kicked or drop kicked through the uprights and over the crossbars of the defense's goalposts.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 57–59.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 79–80.NFHS Rules 2012, p. 66. After a PAT attempt or successful field goal, the scoring team must kick the ball off to the other team.
A
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
is scored when the ball carrier is tackled in his own end zone. Safeties are worth two points, which are awarded to the defense. In addition, the team that conceded the safety must kick the ball to the scoring team via a
free kick
A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play.
Association football
In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...
.NFL Rules 2012, p. 60
Field and equipment
Football games are played on a rectangular
field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
that measures long and wide. Lines marked along the ends and sides of the field are known as the end lines and
sidelines
The "sidelines" are the white or colored lines which mark the outer boundaries of a sports field, running parallel to each other and perpendicular to the goal lines. The sidelines are also where the coaching staff and players out of play ope ...
. Goal lines are marked inward from each end line.NFL Rules 2012, p. v, 1.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 18–19, 23–24.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 11–12, 13, 28.
Weighted pylons are placed the sidelines on the inside corner of the intersections with the goal lines and end lines. White markings on the field identify the distance from the end zone. Inbound lines, or
hash marks
In sports, a hash mark or hash line is a short line/bar marking that is painted perpendicular to the sidelines or side barricades, used to help referees and players recognize on-field locations and visually measure distances. Hash marks serve th ...
, are short parallel lines that mark off increments.
Yard lines
The rectangular field of play used for American football games measures long between the goal lines, and (53.3 yards) wide. The field may be made of grass or artificial turf. In addition, there are end zones extending another past the goal lin ...
, which can run the width of the field, are marked every . A one-yard-wide line is placed at each end of the field; this line is marked at the center of the two-yard line in professional play and at the three-yard line in college play. Numerals that display the distance from the closest goal line in yards are placed on both sides of the field every ten yards.
Goalposts
In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is place ...
are located at the center of the plane of the two end lines. The crossbar of these posts is above the ground, with vertical uprights at the end of the crossbar apart for professional and collegiate play, and apart for high school play. The uprights extend vertically on professional fields, a minimum of on college fields, and a minimum of on high school fields. Goal posts are padded at the base, and orange ribbons are normally placed at the tip of each upright as indicators of wind strength and direction.NFL Rules 2012, p. 2.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 18.NFHS Rules 2012, p. 14.
The
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
itself is an oval ball, similar to the balls used in rugby or
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
. At all levels of play, the football is inflated to and weighs ;NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 20.NFL Rules 2012, p. 3. beyond that, the exact dimensions vary slightly. In professional play the ball has a long axis of , a long circumference of , and a short circumference of . In college and high school play the ball has a long axis of , a long circumference of , and a short circumference of .
Duration and time stoppages
Football games last for a total of 60 minutes in professional and college play and are divided into two halves of 30 minutes and four quarters of 15 minutes.NFL Rules 2012, p. 14.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 45. High school football games are 48 minutes in length with two halves of 24 minutes and four quarters of 12 minutes.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 38–39. The two halves are separated by a
halftime
In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...
period, and the first and third quarters are followed by a short break.NFHS Rules 2012, p. 39. Before the game starts, the referee and each team's
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
meet at midfield for a
coin toss
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...
. The visiting team can call either "heads" or "tails"; the winner of the toss chooses whether to receive or kick off the ball or which goal they wish to defend. They can defer their choice until the second half. Unless the winning team decides to defer, the losing team chooses the option the winning team did not select—to receive, kick, or select a goal to defend to begin the second half. Most teams choose to receive or defer, because choosing to kick the ball to start the game allows the other team to choose which goal to defend. Teams switch goals following the first and third quarters. If a down is in progress when a quarter ends, play continues until the down is completed.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 14–18NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 47–53.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 38–45
Games last longer than their defined length due to play stoppages—the average NFL game lasts slightly over three hours. Time in a football game is measured by the game clock. An operator is responsible for starting, stopping and operating the game clock based on the direction of the appropriate
official
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...
.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 16, 41. A separate
play clock
A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer, is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game in gridiron football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking the b ...
is used to show the amount of time within which the offense must initiate a play. The play clock is set to 25 seconds after certain administrative stoppages in play and to 40 seconds when play is proceeding without such stoppages. If the offense fails to start a play before the play clock reads "00", a
delay of game
Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than ...
foul is called on the offense.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 41, 46–47.NFHS Rules 2019.
Advancing the ball and downs
There are two main ways the offense can advance the ball:
running
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
and passing. In a typical play, the center passes the ball backwards and between their legs to the quarterback in a process known as the
snap
Snap or SNAP may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Snap'', the original release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind''
*''Snap'' (TV series), a CITV programme
* ''The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carol ...
. The quarterback then either hands the ball off to a running back, throws the ball, or runs with it. The play ends when the player with the ball is tackled or goes out-of-bounds or a pass hits the ground without a player having caught it. A forward pass can be legally attempted only if the passer is behind the line of scrimmage; only one forward pass can be attempted per down. As in rugby, players can also pass the ball backwards at any point during a play. In the NFL, a down also ends immediately if the runner's helmet comes off.
The offense is given a series of four plays, known as downs. If the offense advances ten or more yards in the four downs, they are awarded a new set of four downs. If they fail to advance ten yards, possession of the football is turned over to the defense. In most situations, if the offense reaches their fourth down they will punt the ball to the other team, which forces them to begin their drive from farther down the field; if they are in
field goal range Field goal range is the part of the field in American football where there is a good chance that a field goal attempt will be successful.
A field goal is normally 17 yards (7 yards in Canadian football) longer than the distance of the line of scrim ...
, they might attempt to score a field goal instead. A group of officials, the chain crew, keeps track of both the downs and the distance measurements. On television, a yellow line is electronically superimposed on the field to show the first down line to the viewing audience.
Kicking
There are two categories of kicks in football: scrimmage kicks, which can be executed by the offensive team on any down from behind or on the line of scrimmage,NFL Rules 2012, p. 50.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 34.NFHS Rules 2012, p. 32. and free kicks.NFL Rules 2012, p. 6.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 30.NFHS Rules 2012, p. 27. The free kicks are the
kickoff
Kickoff or kick-off may refer to
* Kick-off (association football)
* Kickoff (gridiron football)
* ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games
* ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club
* ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...
, which starts the first and third quarters and overtime and follows a try attempt or a successful field goal; the safety kick follows a safety.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 8–9.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 31–32.
On a kickoff, the ball is placed at the 35-yard line of the kicking team in professional and college play and at the 40-yard line in high school play. The ball may be drop kicked or place kicked. If a place kick is chosen, the ball can be placed on the ground or a tee; a holder may be used in either case. On a safety kick, the kicking team kicks the ball from their own 20-yard line. They can punt, drop kick or place kick the ball, but a tee may not be used in professional play. Any member of the receiving team may catch or advance the ball. The ball may be recovered by the kicking team once it has gone at least ten yards and has touched the ground or has been touched by any member of the receiving team.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 29–30.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 61–64.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 15, 46, 52–53.
The three types of scrimmage kicks are place kicks, drop kicks, and punts. Only place kicks and drop kicks can score points. The place kick is the standard method used to score points, because the pointy shape of the football makes it difficult to reliably drop kick. Once the ball has been kicked from a scrimmage kick, it can be advanced by the kicking team only if it is caught or recovered behind the line of scrimmage. If it is touched or recovered by the kicking team beyond this line, it becomes dead at the spot where it was touched.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 33–34, 50–53.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 55–56, 63–64.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 49, 53–54. The kicking team is prohibited from interfering with the receiver's opportunity to catch the ball. The receiving team has the option of signaling for a
fair catch
A fair catch is a feature of American football and several other codes of football, in which a player attempting to catch a ball kicked by the opposing team – either on a kickoff or punt – is entitled to catch the ball without interference f ...
, which prohibits the defense from blocking into or tackling the receiver. The play ends as soon as the ball is caught and the ball may not be advanced.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 7, 54–55.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, pp. 30, 66–67.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 27, 56.
Officials and fouls
Officials are responsible for enforcing game rules and monitoring the clock. All officials carry a
whistle
A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a larg ...
and wear black-and-white striped shirts and black hats except for the referee, whose hat is white. Each carries a weighted yellow flag that is thrown to the ground to signal that a foul has been called. An official who spots multiple fouls will throw their hat as a secondary signal. The seven officials (of a standard seven-man crew; lower levels of play up to the college level use fewer officials) on the field are each tasked with a different set of responsibilities:
* The referee is positioned behind and to the side of the offensive backs. The referee is charged with oversight and control of the game and is the authority on the score, the down number, and any rule interpretations in discussions among the other officials. The referee announces all penalties and discusses the infraction with the offending team's captain, monitors for illegal hits against the quarterback, makes requests for first-down measurements, and notifies the head coach whenever a player is ejected. The referee positions themselves to the passing arm side of the quarterback. In most games, the referee is responsible for spotting the football prior to a play from scrimmage.
* The umpire is positioned in the defensive backfield, except in the NFL, where the umpire is positioned lateral to the referee on the opposite side of the formation. The umpire watches play along the line of scrimmage to make sure that no more than 11 offensive players are on the field before the snap and that no offensive linemen are illegally downfield on pass plays. The umpire monitors contact between offensive and defensive linemen and calls most of the holding penalties. The umpire records the number of timeouts taken and the winner of the coin toss and the game score, assists the referee in situations involving possession of the ball close to the line of scrimmage, determines whether player equipment is legal, and dries wet balls prior to the snap if a game is played in rain.
* The back judge is positioned deep in the defensive backfield, behind the umpire. The back judge ensures that the defensive team has no more than 11 players on the field and determines whether catches are legal, whether field goal or extra point attempts are good, and whether a
pass interference
In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference (PI) is a foul that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, ...
violation occurred. The back judge is also responsible for the play clock, the time between each play, when a visible play clock is not used.
* The head linesman/down judge is positioned on one end of the line of scrimmage. The head linesman/down judge watches for any line-of-scrimmage and illegal use-of-hands violations and assists the line judge with illegal shift or illegal motion calls. The head linesman/down judge also rules on out-of-bounds calls that happen on their side of the field, oversees the chain crew and marks the forward progress of a runner when a play has been whistled dead.
* The side judge is positioned twenty yards downfield of the head linesman. The side judge mainly duplicates the functions of the field judge. On field goal and extra point attempts, the side judge is positioned lateral to the umpire.
* The line judge is positioned on the end of the line of scrimmage, opposite the head linesman. They supervise player substitutions, the line of scrimmage during punts, and game timing. The line judge notifies the referee when time has expired at the end of a quarter and notifies the head coach of the home team when five minutes remain for halftime. In the NFL, the line judge also alerts the referee when two minutes remain in the half. If the clock malfunctions or becomes inoperable, the line judge becomes the official timekeeper.
* The field judge is positioned twenty yards downfield from the line judge. The field judge monitors and controls the
play clock
A play clock, also called a delay-of-game timer, is a countdown clock intended to speed up the pace of the game in gridiron football. The offensive team must put the ball in play by either snapping the ball during a scrimmage down or kicking the b ...
, counts the number of defensive players on the field and watches for offensive pass interference and illegal use-of-hands violations by offensive players. The field judge also makes decisions regarding catches, recoveries, the ball spot when a player goes out of bounds, and illegal touching of fumbled balls that have crossed the line of scrimmage. On field goal and extra point attempts, the field judge is stationed under the upright opposite the back judge.
* The center judge is an eighth official used only in the top level of college football. The center judge stands lateral to the referee, the same way the umpire does in the NFL. The center judge is responsible for spotting the football after each play and has many of the same responsibilities as the referee, except announcing penalties.
Another set of officials, the
chain crew
In gridiron football, the chain crew (commonly known as the "chain gang") is a crew that manages signal poles on one of the sidelines. There are three primary signal poles: the "rear rod" that marks the beginning of the current set of downs, the ...
, are responsible for moving the chains. The chains, consisting of two large sticks with a 10-yard-long chain between them, are used to measure for a first down. The chain crew stays on the sidelines during the game, but if requested by the officials they will briefly bring the chains on to the field to measure. A typical chain crew will have at least three people—two members of the chain crew will hold either of the two sticks, while a third will hold the down marker. The down marker, a large stick with a dial on it, is flipped after each play to indicate the current down and is typically moved to the approximate spot of the ball. The chain crew system has been used for over 100 years and is considered to be an accurate measure of distance, rarely subject to criticism from either side.
Safety and brain health
Football is a full-contact sport, and injuries are relatively common. Most injuries occur during training sessions, particularly ones that involve contact between players. To try to prevent injuries, players are required to wear a set of equipment. At a minimum players must wear a
football helmet
The football helmet is a piece of protective equipment used mainly in gridiron football, although a structural variation has occasional use in Australian rules football. It consists of a hard plastic shell with thick padding on the inside, a f ...
and a set of
shoulder pads Shoulder pads may refer to:
* Shoulder pads (fashion)
* Shoulder pads (sport)
Shoulder pads are a piece of protective equipment used in many contact sports such as gridiron football, lacrosse, and ice hockey and some non-contact sports such as ...
, but individual leagues may require additional padding such as thigh pads and guards, knee pads, chest protectors, and
mouthguard
A mouthguard is a protective device for the mouth that covers the teeth and gums to prevent and reduce injury to the teeth, arches, lips and gums. An effective mouthguard is like a crash helmet for teeth and jaws. It also prevents the jaws com ...
s.NFL Rules 2012, pp. 24–27.NCAA Rules 2011–2012, p. 22.NFHS Rules 2012, pp. 17–19. Most injuries occur in the lower extremities, particularly in the knee, but a significant number also affect the upper extremities. The most common types of injuries are strains,
sprain
A sprain, also known as a torn ligament, is an acute soft tissue injury of the ligaments within a joint, often caused by a sudden movement abruptly forcing the joint to exceed its functional range of motion. Ligaments are tough, inelastic fibers ...
s,
bruise
A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close ...
s, fractures,
dislocations
In materials science, a dislocation or Taylor's dislocation is a linear crystallographic defect or irregularity within a crystal structure that contains an abrupt change in the arrangement of atoms. The movement of dislocations allow atoms to sl ...
, and
concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
s.
Repeated
concussions
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
(and possibly sub-concussive head impacts) can increase a person's risk in later life for CTE (
chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...
) and mental health issues such as
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
,
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
, and depression. Concussions are often caused by helmet-to-helmet or upper-body contact between opposing players, although helmets have prevented more serious injuries such as
skull fracture
A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the human skull, skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near ...
s. Various programs are aiming to reduce concussions by reducing the frequency of helmet-to-helmet hits;
USA Football
USA Football is the national governing body for amateur American football in the United States. It is an independent non-profit based in Indianapolis, Indiana. USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive p ...
's "Heads Up Football" program aims to reduce concussions in youth football by teaching coaches and players about the signs of a concussion, the proper way to wear football equipment and ensure it fits, and proper tackling methods that avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. However, a study in the ''Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine'' found that Heads Up Football was ineffective; the same study noted that more extensive reforms implemented by
Pop Warner Little Scholars
Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a nonprofit organization that provides activities such as American football, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth footbal ...
and its member teams were effective in significantly reducing concussion rates.
A 2018 study performed by the VA Boston Healthcare System and the
Boston University School of Medicine
The Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, formerly the Boston University School of Medicine, is one of the graduate schools of Boston University. Founded in 1848, the medical school was the first institution in the world ...
found that tackle football before age 12 was correlated with earlier onset of symptoms of CTE, but not with symptom severity. More specifically, each year a player played tackle football under age 12 predicted earlier onset of cognitive, behavioral, and mood problems by an average of two and a half years.Age of First Exposure to Tackle Football and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy , ''Annals of Neurology'', Michael L. Alosco PhD, Jesse Mez MD, MS, Yorghos Tripodis PhD, Patrick T. Kiernan BA, Bobak Abdolmohammadi BA, Lauren Murphy BA, Neil W. Kowall MD, Thor D. Stein MD, PhD, Bertrand Russell Huber MD, PhD, Lee E. Goldstein MD, PhD, Robert C. Cantu MD, Douglas I. Katz MD, Christine E. Chaisson MPH, Brett Martin MS, Todd M. Solomon PhD, Michael D. McClean ScD, Daniel H. Daneshvar MD, PhD, Christopher J. Nowinski PhD, Robert A. Stern PhD, Ann C. McKee MD, April 30, 2018.
Leagues and tournaments
The
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) and the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) are the most popular football leagues in the United States. The National Football League was founded in 1920 and has since become the largest and most popular sport in the United States. The NFL has the highest average attendance of any sporting league in the world, with an average attendance of 66,960 during the
2011 NFL season
The 2011 NFL season was the 92nd regular season of the National Football League and the 46th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Thursday, September 8, 2011, with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay defeating the Super Bowl XLIV champion New ...
. The NFL championship game is called the Super Bowl, and is among the biggest events in club sports worldwide. It is played between the champions of the
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference ...
(NFC) and the
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(AFC), and its winner is awarded the
Vince Lombardi Trophy
The Vince Lombardi Trophy is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl. The trophy is named in honor of NFL coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to victor ...
.
College football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
is the third-most popular sport in the United States, behind professional baseball and professional football. The NCAA, the largest collegiate organization, is divided into three Divisions: Division I, Division II and
Division III
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
. Division I football is further divided into two subdivisions: the
Football Bowl Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
(FBS) and the
Football Championship Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...
(FCS). The champions of each level of play are determined through NCAA-sanctioned playoff systems; while the champion of Division I-FBS was historically determined by various polls and ranking systems, the subdivision adopted a four-team playoff system in 2014.
is the most popular sport in the United States played by boys; over 1.1 million boys participated in the sport from 2007 to 2008 according to a survey by the
National Federation of State High School Associations
The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indi ...
(NFHS). There is a stark contrast in youth football participation between boys and girls. Only one youth football league exists in the United States for girls, the GFL. The NFHS is the largest organization for high school football, with member associations in all
50 states
The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and various minor islands. Both the states and the United S ...
as well as the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
. USA Football is the governing body for youth and amateur football, and Pop Warner Little Scholars is the largest organization for youth football.
Other professional leagues
Several professional football leagues have been formed outside the auspices of the NFL.
Rival leagues
The most successful league to directly compete with the NFL was the American Football League (AFL), which existed from 1960 to 1969. The AFL became a significant rival in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
before signing a five-year, US$36 million television deal with NBC. AFL teams began signing NFL players to contracts, and the league's popularity grew to challenge that of the NFL. The two leagues merged in the 1970 season, and all the AFL teams joined the NFL. An earlier league, the
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
(AAFC), was in play from 1946 to 1949. After it had dissolved, two AAFC teams, the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
and the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, became members of the NFL; another member, the
Baltimore Colts
The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...
joined the league, but folded after just a year in the NFL.
Other attempts to start rival leagues since the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970 have been far less successful, as professional football salaries and the NFL's television contracts began to escalate out of the reach of competitors and the NFL covered more of the larger cities. The
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
(WFL) played for two seasons, in 1974 and 1975, but faced such severe monetary issues it could not pay its players. In its second and final season the WFL attempted to establish a stable credit rating, but the league disbanded before the season could be completed. The
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL) operated for three seasons from 1983 to 1985. Originally not intended as a rival league, the entry of owners who sought marquee talent and to challenge the NFL led to an escalation in salaries and ensuing financial losses. A subsequent US$1.5 billion antitrust lawsuit against the NFL was successful in court, but the league was awarded only $1 in damages, which was automatically tripled to $3 under antitrust law.
Complementary national leagues
The original
XFL
XFL may refer to:
Sports
* XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001
* XFL (2020), a professional American football league
Vehicles
* Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
was created in 2001 by
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...
and lasted for only one season. Despite television contracts with NBC and
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
, and high expectations, the XFL suffered from low quality of play and poor reception for its use of tawdry professional wrestling gimmicks, which caused initially high ratings and attendance to collapse. The XFL was rebooted in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
. However, after only five weeks of play, the league's operations slowly came to a close due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
but folded after suspending its 2012 season amid declining interest and lack of major television coverage. The
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...
American football leagues exist throughout the world, but the game has yet to achieve the international success and popularity of
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. It is not an
Olympic sport
Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing b ...
, but it was a
demonstration sport
A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games, but may also occur at other sporting events.
Demonstration spor ...
at the
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...
. At the international level, Canada, Mexico, and Japan are considered to be second-tier, while Austria, Germany, and France would rank among a third tier. These countries rank far below the United States, which is dominant at the international level.
NFL Europa
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
, the developmental league of the NFL, operated from 1991 to 1992 and then from 1995 to 2007. At the time of its closure, NFL Europa had five teams based in Germany and one in the Netherlands. In Germany, the
German Football League
The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''Ameri ...
(GFL) has 16 teams and has operated for over 40 seasons, with the league's championship game, the
German Bowl
The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League.
The New Yorker Lions, from Braunschweig, are the record winners of the Ger ...
, closing out each season. The league operates in a
promotion and relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
structure with
German Football League 2
The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the ''2. Bundesliga''.
League structure
The ''GFL2'', formerly the ''2. Bundesliga'', wh ...
(GFL2), which also has 16 teams. The
BIG6 European Football League
The BIG6 European Football League (BIG6) was a European Cup style tournament for European American football teams. Originally organized by the EFAF (European Federation of American Football), the tournament had been run by the German Football L ...
functions as a continental championship for Europe. The competition is contested between the top six European teams.
The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
also operated several teams within NFL Europe during the League's tenure. The resulting rise in popularity of the sport brought the NFL back to the country in 2007 where they now hold the
NFL International Series
The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) NFL regular season, regular season that are List of National Football League games played outside the United States, played outside th ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, currently consisting of four regular season games. The continuing interest and growth in both the sport and the series has led to the possible formation of a potential NFL franchise in London
An American football league system already exists within the UK, the
BAFANL
The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
, which has run under various guises since 1983. It currently has 70 teams operating across the tiers of contact football in which teams aim to earn promotion to the Division above, with the Premier Division teams competing to win the
Britbowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitute ...
, the annual British Football Bowl game that has been played since 1985. In 2007 the
British Universities American Football League
The British Universities American Football League (BUAFL), is an American football league contested by university teams in the United Kingdom as part of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) organisation. The league was formed by the ...
was formed. From 2008, the BUAFL was officially associated with the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), through its partner organisation NFL UK. In 2012, BUAFL's league and teams were absorbed into BUCS after American football became an official BUCS sport. Over the period 2007 to 2014, the BUAFL grew from 42 teams and 2,460 participants to 75 teams and over 4,100 people involved.
American football federations are present in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
,
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...
; a total of 64 national football federations exist as of July 2012. The
International Federation of American Football
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a prov ...
(IFAF), an international governing body composed of continental federations, runs tournaments such as the
IFAF World Championship
The IFAF World Championship of American Football (also known as the IFAF World Cup) is an international gridiron competition held every four years and contested by teams representing member nations. The competition is run by the International Fe ...
, the
IFAF Women's World Championship
The IFAF Women's World Championship is the international championship for women in American football. The first event was held in 2010, in Stockholm, Sweden, with six countries competing. The United States took home the gold while not letting an ...
, the
IFAF U-19 World Championship
The 2012 IFAF U-19 World Championship took place in 2012 at Austin, Texas. These championship match the world’s eight best high school-aged (19 and under) national American football teams from five continents shall be played at 12,000-capacity B ...
and the Flag Football World Championship. The IFAF also organizes the annual International Bowl game. The IFAF has received provisional recognition from the
(IOC). Several major obstacles hinder the IFAF goal of achieving status as an Olympic sport. These include the predominant participation of men in international play and the short three-week Olympic schedule. Large team sizes are an additional difficulty, due to the Olympics' set limit of 10,500 athletes and coaches. American football also has an issue with a lack of global visibility.
Nigel Melville
Nigel David Melville (born 6 January 1961) is a former England national rugby union team scrum half and captain and currently serves as Director of Professional Rugby for Rugby Football Union.
Melville became the youngest player to captain E ...
, the CEO of
USA Rugby
USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...
, noted that "American football is recognized globally as a sport, but it's not played globally." To solve these concerns, major effort has been put into promoting
flag football
Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...
, a modified version of American football, at the international level.
Popularity and cultural influence
United States
"Baseball is still called the national pastime, but football is by far the more popular sport in American society", according to ESPN.com's Sean McAdam. In a 2014 poll conducted by Harris Interactive, professional football ranked as the most popular sport, and college football ranked third behind only professional football and baseball; 46% of participants ranked some form of the game as their favorite sport. Professional football has ranked as the most popular sport in the poll since 1985, when it surpassed baseball for the first time. Professional football is most popular among those who live in the eastern United States and rural areas, while college football is most popular in the southern United States and among people with graduate and post-graduate degrees. Football is also the most-played sport by high school and college athletes in the United States. In a 2012 study, the NCAA estimated there were around 1.1 million high school football players and nearly 70,000 college football players in the United States; in comparison, the second-most played sport, basketball, had around 1 million participants in high school and 34,000 in college. The Super Bowl is the most popular single-day sporting event in the United States, and is among the biggest club sporting events in the world in terms of TV viewership. The NFL makes approximately $10 billion annually. Super Bowl games account for seven of the top eight most-watched broadcasts in American history;
Super Bowl XLIX
Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...
, played on February 1, 2015, was watched by a record 114.4 million Americans.
American football also plays a significant role in American culture. The day on which the Super Bowl is held is considered a ''de facto'' national holiday, and in parts of the country like
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, the sport has been compared to a religion. Football is also linked to other holidays; New Year's Day is traditionally the date for several college football bowl games, including the Rose Bowl. However, if New Year's Day is on a Sunday, the bowl games are moved to another date so as not to conflict with the typical NFL Sunday schedule.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
is an American tradition, hosting many high school, college, and professional games. Steve Deace of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' wrote that Americans are passionate about football "because it embodies everything we love about
American exceptionalism
American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is inherently different from other nations. Implicit rules such as playing through pain and sacrificing for the better of the team are promoted in football culture.
The safety of the sport has also sparked national controversy in
American popular culture
The culture of the United States of America is primarily of Western, and European origin, yet its influences includes the cultures of Asian American, African American, Latin American, and Native American peoples and their cultures. The U ...
. The 2015 film ''
Concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
'' aimed to shed light on the sport's safety, specifically in the NFL by having
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
neuropathologist
Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clinic ...
who was the first to discover and publish findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.
Other countries
In Canada, the game has a significant following. According to a 2013 poll, 21% of respondents said they followed the NFL "very closely" or "fairly closely", making it the third-most followed league behind the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) and
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL). American football also has a long history in Mexico, which was introduced to the sport in 1896. It was the second-most popular sport in Mexico in the 1950s, with the game being particularly popular in colleges. The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' notes the NFL claims over 16 million fans in Mexico, which places the country third behind the U.S. and Canada. American football is played in Mexico both professionally and as part of the college sports system. A professional league, the
Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional
The Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (Professional American Football League), commonly known simply as LFA, is a professional american football spring league in Mexico, founded in 2016. Starting with four teams, the LFA has since expanded t ...
(LFA), was founded in 2016.
Japan was introduced to the sport in 1934 by
Paul Rusch
Paul Frederick Rusch (1897 – 1979) was a lay missionary of the Anglican Church in Japan.
Rusch is remembered in Japan for his role as an educator and for pioneering activities in development of American football, rural agriculture and post Secon ...
, a teacher and Christian missionary who helped to establish football teams at three universities in Tokyo. Play was halted during World War II, but the sport began growing in popularity again after the war. , there are more than 400 high school football teams in Japan, with over 15,000 participants, and over 100 teams play in the Kantoh Collegiate Football Association (KCFA). The college champion plays the champion of the X-League (a semi-professional league where teams are financed by corporations) in the
Rice Bowl
The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; and C ...
to determine Japan's national champion.
Europe is a major target for the expansion of the game by football organizers. In the United Kingdom in the 1980s, the sport was popular, with the 1986 Super Bowl being watched by over four million people (about 1 out of every 14 Britons). Its popularity faded during the 1990s, coinciding with the establishment of the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
—top level of the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
. According to
BBC America
BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary ser ...
, there is a "social stigma" surrounding American football in the UK, with many Brits feeling the sport has no right to call itself "football" due to the lack of emphasis on kicking. Nonetheless, the sport has retained a following in the United Kingdom; the NFL operates a media network in the country, and since 2007 has hosted the
NFL International Series
The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) NFL regular season, regular season that are List of National Football League games played outside the United States, played outside th ...
in London. Super Bowl viewership has also rebounded, with over 4.4 million Britons watching
Super Bowl XLVI
Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
. The sport is played in European countries like Switzerland, which has American football clubs in every major city, and Germany, where the sport has around 45,000 registered amateur players.
In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, football is a growing sport. It was generally unknown there until the 1980s when a small group of players began playing on
Copacabana Beach
Copacabana () is a ''bairro'' (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in the wor ...
in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. The sport grew gradually with 700 amateur players registering within 20 years. Games were played on the beach with modified rules and without the traditional football equipment due to its lack of availability in Brazil. Eventually, a tournament, the Carioca championship, was founded, with the championship
played to determine a league champion. The country saw its first full-pad game of football in October 2008. According to ''
The Rio Times
''The Rio Times'' is an English Language, English-language newspaper and news and features website based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and one of the biggest newspapers in English in all of Latin America, with a reach twice as large as the second-pl ...
'', the sport is one of the fastest-growing sports in Brazil and is almost as commonly played as soccer on the beaches of Copacabana and
Botafogo
Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...
.
Football in Brazil is governed by the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol Americano (CBFA), which had over 5,000 registered players as of November 2013. The sport's increase in popularity has been attributed to games aired on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, which began airing in Brazil in 1992 with Portuguese commentary. The popularity and "easy accessibility" of non-contact versions of the sport in Brazil has led to a rise in participation by female players. According to ESPN, the American football audience in Brazil increased 800% between 2013 and 2016. The network, along with
Esporte Interativo
TNT Sports is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery in Brazil responsible for sports broadcasts on TNT and Space channels in the country.
Esporte Interativo started as a television channel, inaugurated on January 20, 2007 with the live broadcas ...
, airs games there on cable television. Football is often associated in Brazil as being the sport of supermodel
Gisele Bündchen
Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned th ...
's husband
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
. The NFL has expressed interest in having games in the country, and the Super Bowl has become a widely watched event in Brazil at bars and
movie theater
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
s.
Variations and related sports
Canadian football
Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...
, the predominant form of football in Canada, is closely related to American football—both sports developed from rugby and are considered to be the chief variants of gridiron football. Although both games share a similar set of rules, there are several key rule differences: for example, in Canadian football the field measures , including two 20-yard end zones (for a distance between goal lines of 110 yards), teams have three downs instead of four, there are twelve players on each side instead of eleven, fair catches are not allowed, and a
rouge
Rouge is the French word for "red" and may refer to:
Compounds
* Rouge (cosmetics), a cosmetic used to color the cheeks and emphasize the cheekbones
* Jeweler's rouge or iron(III) oxide
* Rouging, a form of corrosion applicable to stainless ...
, worth a single point is scored if the offensive team kicks the ball out of the defense's end zone. The Canadian Football League (CFL) is the major Canadian league and is the second-most popular sporting league in Canada, behind the National Hockey League. The NFL and CFL had a formal working relationship from 1997 to 2006. The CFL has a strategic partnership with two American football leagues, the German Football League (GFL) and the Liga de Futbol Americano Profesional (LFA). The Canadian rules were developed separately from the American game.
Indoor football leagues constitute what ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' writer Mike Tanier described as the "most minor of minor leagues." Leagues are unstable, with franchises regularly moving from one league to another or merging with other teams, and teams or entire leagues dissolving completely; games are only attended by a small number of fans, and most players are
semi-professional
Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...
athletes. The
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...
is an example of a prominent indoor league. The
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
, which was founded in 1987 and ceased operations in 2019, was one of the longest-lived indoor football leagues. In 2004, the league was called "America's fifth major sport" by ''
ESPN The Magazine
''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...
''.
There are several non-contact variants of football like
flag football
Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...
. In flag football the ballcarrier is not tackled; instead, defenders aim to pull a flag tied around the ballcarrier's waist. Another variant, touch football, simply requires the ballcarrier to be touched to be considered downed. Depending on the rules used, a game of touch football may require the ballcarrier be touched with either one or two hands to be considered downed.
See also
*
American football strategy
Strategy forms a major part of American football. Both teams plan many aspects of their plays (offense) and response to plays (defense), such as what formations they take, who they put on the field, and the roles and instructions each player are ...
*
Comparison of American football and rugby union
A comparison of American football and rugby union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.
Rules
Tackle
In the event of a tackle in rugby the player may pass the ball behind him provided he is not on th ...
*
Comparison of American football and rugby league
A comparison between American football and rugby league is possible because of their shared origins and similar game concepts. Rugby league is arguably the most similar sport to American football after Canadian football: both sports involve the c ...
*
Fantasy football (gridiron)
Fantasy football is a game in which the participants serve as owners and general managers of virtual professional American football teams. The competitors select their rosters by participating in a draft in which all relevant National Football Le ...
*
Lists of American football players
Lists of American football players include:
Professional
* List of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
* List of American Football League players
National Football League
* Current team rosters:
** List of current American Football Conferenc ...
*
List of American football stadiums by capacity
The following is an incomplete list of current American football stadiums ranked by capacity. The list contains the home stadiums of all 32 professional teams playing in the NFL as well as the largest stadiums used by college football teams in t ...
*
List of American and Canadian football leagues
This is a list of current and defunct leagues of American football and Canadian football.
Leagues in North America
Current professional leagues in North America
Professional outdoor leagues
''Major''
* National Football League (NFL), 192 ...
*
Doping in American football
The use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs in American football is officially prohibited by virtually every sanctioning body.
The National Football League (NFL) began to test players for steroid use during the 1987 season, and s ...
Library of America
The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published over 300 volumes by authors rangi ...