An average professional football game lasts 3 hours and 12 minutes, however when the ball is really in play, the action lasts only 11 minutes. Part of the difference is due to the fundamental rules of American football. The game stops whenever the ball is out of bounds or caught by a player with either team still having players on the field.
When the ball is dead, the players stop moving and the referee calls time out. During time outs, the referees can signal for fair catches or force-outs. If a player forces the ball into the air with both feet before it hits the ground he is awarded with a forward pass, otherwise they will get a free kick after which the defense gets another chance at stopping them.
The first half of most games is played under ordinary circumstances. The second half is used up if one team shows up late or doesn't have enough players. In this case, the opposing team gets a free kick after which they can substitute any number of players but no more than 14. The game ends if the ball goes out of bounds or someone touches it without being touched by a player on that side first. In this case, the opposition can choose to have a free kick or take a penalty kick.
A match is considered official once there are less than 15 minutes remaining until the end of the first half.
An NFL game should go somewhat more than 3 hours. As previously stated, the longest average in recent years came in 2015, when the average game time was 3 hours and 9 minutes. That's 1 hour and 51 minutes per quarter.
The average time per play is 20 minutes, or one quarter of football. Add up all the time between plays, and you get the total length of the game. The average NFL game lasts 3 hours and 9 minutes, or 90 minutes. In fact, the last few seasons have seen games end as early as 80 minutes and as late as 4 hours and 40 minutes. This means that about a third of NFL games are played with a clock time of less than 2 hours.
In terms of actual playing time, almost half (46%) of NFL games are played for at least three quarters. However, only 16% of games are played for four quarters or more.
The shortest game ever played was a college football game between Florida State and Miami on November 23, 1995. The game ended after the first quarter because it was considered to be over when FSU took control of the ball with just under seven minutes left in the period. Florida State won the game 44-6.
The average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is around 11 minutes, according to a Wall Street Journal examination of four recent broadcasts and comparable estimates by researchers. In the NBA, it's about 9 minutes.
That's not very long. And it's even shorter when you consider that most games have two overtimes. That adds up to about 2 1/2 hours of game time per team per season. Of that, half is spent waiting for penalties to be enforced (usually after some sort of incident with officials) and half while those incidents are being resolved (i.e., linesmen making calls).
Now, there are some exceptions where games go past both the regular season and into the playoffs (like this year's World Series), but that happens only occasionally. And even then, these are not typical game lengths. An average MLB playoff game lasts 4 hours and 49 minutes. An average NHL playoff game goes for 3 hours, 51 minutes.
So, overall, we're looking at something like 30-35 hours of game time per season, which is about 10% of the total available time. This percentage may seem high, but it's actually fairly low compared to other sports. For example, a baseball game used to last 5 hours until an official called for lights out at midnight in 1969.
Collegiate and professional football games last 60 minutes, broken into four 15-minute quarters. Quarters in high school football are generally 12 minutes long. However, the time is frequently paused, resulting in a typical collegiate or professional game lasting more over three hours. This is due to the fact that most games include several breaks for water and nutrition for the players and coaches, as well as a halftime ceremony and adjustment of equipment.
The college football play clock is timed from the beginning of each quarter to expire. If no score is available, "0" is displayed instead. If time remains after the end of the game, an extra period called a "sudden death" period begins where either team can score a touchdown to win the game. The scoring system used by U.S. colleges and universities is known as "touchdown football".
In addition to regular plays within the field goal range, coaches may call "challenges" during sudden death periods. The referee will review the video evidence before making the final decision on whether or not to allow a challenge for what would otherwise be a missed field goal try. Challenges can only be made from the 20-yard line; if a challenge is made from outside this distance, the coach's challenge is overruled by rule.
A football game's typical play might last anywhere from four to twelve seconds. When the center snaps the ball to the quarterback or another player in the backfield, the play begins. When a player is tackled, sprints out of bounds, or a pass is incomplete, the game is over. However many yards the team advances down the field are called "downs". The number of downs can vary from league to league but most leagues use a variation of the American football rules called "11-men on the field", which allows for up to 11 players on the field at any one time.
When the play starts, each player runs toward the line of scrimmage, which is the back of the end zone. A player is offset from the line if he is more than 10 yards away from it. Once all the players are in place, the ball is snapped into the air. The quarterback tries to get as many yards as possible before being touched by another player or falling into harm's way. If he is hit while throwing a ball, he is considered down until he gets rid of it.
The length of a play depends on how far the ball carrier goes and how many yards upfield they manage to gain. Most plays last between 4 and 6 seconds because the offense usually has enough room to move the ball downfield before the defense can react.
A typical broadcast college football game lasts around 3 hours and 26 minutes, which is approximately 16 minutes longer than an NFL game. The major reasons for the greater length of the college game are that halftime is 8 minutes longer (20 minutes versus 12 minutes) and the clock stops every time a team scores a first down until the ball is ready to play. If a game reached its conclusion without either team scoring a touchdown, it would have been the longest game in history.
The average length of a college football game has increased over time. In 1994, the average length was 2 hours and 49 minutes. It peaked at 3 hours and 26 minutes in 2000, before beginning a gradual decline to 3 hours and 44 minutes by 2014.
Beginning with the 1996 season, all NCAA Division I-A games were required to be played during daylight hours. This rule was put into place to increase player safety because nighttime games often lead to players being unable to see the field clearly or avoid obstacles such as trees and buildings. During the 1995 season, several games ended in darkness due to injuries on the field causing them to be stopped. This reason could not be used again after the 1996 season when all games had to be played during daylight hours.
Another reason why the length of college football games has increased is due to television contracts. As more people tune in to watch games on TV, the networks pay more money to show them. To make up for this increase, schools charge more for tickets, which leads to more fans attending games.
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