In practice, most NFL quarterbacks can throw the ball 70-80 yards. Aaron Rodgers has the longest throw in a game situation that I could locate in the last ten years. He threw it 75 yards against the Chicago Bears in 2013.
The record for the longest career pass play is held by Joe Kapp with 79 yards against the Los Angeles Rams in 1960. The shortest recorded pass in an official NFL game is 5 yards thrown by Bernie Kosar to Tony Zendejas in 1999. Kosar suffered a broken leg on the play but it was legal because it fell within the field of play. The ball moved after it was released by Kosar and was recovered by Zendejas who took off running and lateraled the ball back to Kosar who ran with it for a first down.
Kosar's five-yard pass is also the shortest recorded throw in an NCAA football game. John Elway completed a 45-yard pass to Alvin Harper in 1985 during his freshman season at Duke University. The ball was spotted at the 20-yard line of their own end zone and was ruled out of bounds by one yard due to a false start by Harper. If it were allowed to continue, it would have been a touchdown.
There is no clear record for the longest football throw in history, although many consider former NFL quarterback Vinny Testaverde's 80-yard pass in the 1988 "Quarterback Challenge" tournament to be the longest. The NFL does not record statistics on actual pass distances, thus no such Guinness World Record exists.
In addition to Testaverde, other notable quarterbacks who has claimed to have thrown a ball 80 yards or more include Roger Staubach, who reportedly threw an 81-yard touchdown pass during a game against the Dallas Cowboys on October 20, 1973; and Doug Williams, who allegedly threw a 91-yard touchdown pass during a game against the Atlanta Falcons on December 11, 1990. Both players were born in the years 1936 and 1951 respectively.
A few college football players have also been able to throw the ball long distances. In fact, two of the most famous college football programs in the country, Texas A&M and Florida State, are both known for their strong arms. During the 2013 season, Oklahoma City Thunder player James Harden recorded a career high 89-reception performance by an individual player in a single season. He did this while playing for the University of Texas at Austin. Former Florida State quarterback Bobby Bowden has the highest career average among active players with 9.5 yards per attempt. Currently, the longest NFL pass without a reception is 85 yards, set by Miami Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore in 2014.
NFL quarterbacks are required to make accurate passes of roughly 60 yards, and there are variances in physical ability beyond that: individuals like Vinny Testaverde and Michael Vick had amazing arms, and players like Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford can hurl it 70+ yards nowadays with ease. So how far out can you throw? The record is 92 yards, thrown by Eric Hill during a college game in 1998. He also caught the ball out of the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
That's pretty much as far as anyone has ever thrown a ball, but science has come up with some ways to improve your arm strength and accuracy. One method used by baseball pitchers is called "throwing shoulder." When you throw a ball, any loose clothing hanging down from your neck (such as a shirt collar) can get dragged along by the ball and increase the distance it travels. Throwing shoulder means taking off your shirt so the ball doesn't drag it along.
Another way to improve your throwing motion is through practice. There are two parts to any successful pass: first, the ball must be released accurately; second, it must reach its destination without being intercepted. To perfect your release, hold a ball by the seams and slowly open your hand until the ball comes away from your body. Do not jerk the ball forward: instead, use only the residual force of your muscles to spin the ball on its axis, causing it to fly through the air.
A football is probably around 50 yards long. A tight spiral requires the ability to throw a strong slider. The average person should be able to throw a 30-yard disc. Some high school and college players are throwing 60 yards with regularity.
The distance that you can throw a ball depends on many factors such as your arm strength, hand size, wind speed/direction, ball type, and terrain features. Throwing the ball farther than 20 yards away from you requires accurate shooting and control of the ball's trajectory. Most people can't do this accurately with any kind of consistency. However, some elite throwers have been known to throw the ball 50 yards or more.
The maximum recorded distance thrown in a game was 66 yards by Otto Kircher of Germany in 1914. This record has since been surpassed several times but it has never been broken.
The average length of a football field is 40 yards, including sidelines and end zones. So, a player needs to be able to throw the ball at least that far if they want to get into the end zone. This means that most people cannot throw the ball very far. However, there are some who throw much further than this.
The highest elevation point of a football field is just over 10 feet above sea level.
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