How long is a football game: The right answer

The NFL (National Football League) is gradually showing its attraction when it has millions of spectators around the world. We often enjoy watching the matches until we forget the time. However, have you ever asked the question: “How long is a football game?” You feel the matches when watching live or when shown on TV are often very long, but what is the truth? Let’s find out with Scott Fujita!

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1. How long are football games: NFL game length?

The game lasts an hour, divided into four 15-minute sections. Each round is spaced 12 minutes apart. However, this only tells half the story, with the game taking an average of 3 hours and 12 minutes to complete.

An American football game has a duration of 60 minutes, with an additional 15 minutes per half if extra time is required. This only applies to the NFL. In college football, there is no overtime limit.

The game always lasts more than 60 minutes due to the action being interrupted from the penalty, the assessment and the time allotted between innings. The hour is divided into four 15-minute quarters that make up the first and second half of the game.

The football game lasted more than an hour. Games can often last two or even three hours, depending on whether or not the game is overtime. Injuries and media downtime can also take up a large amount of time increasing the overall length of a football match. Recent studies have shown that the average NFL game lasts about three hours in total.

So, we have just helped you answer the question “how long is a football games?” or “how long are football games”.

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2. How many quarters are there in football games? How many minutes are in a NFL quarter?

There are four quarters in a football game.

If you understand its basic game format, you can better appreciate the time you will spend watching an NFL football game.

First round

Every NFL game is played in four 15 minute quarters. There is a break between the second and third quarters. If the score is tied by the final whistle, then overtime will result in sudden death. The first team to score in the OT wins the game.

A quarter has 15 minutes. The first half consists of two quarters. After the first round, there will be a 3-minute stop after that. Next, the second inning will continue for another 15 minutes. So a total of 33 minutes for the first half.

Related: How long is a football field in feet

Second round

It was followed by a 13-minute 30-second break, matching the 2017 benchmark followed by the NFL. However, it is customary to have live entertainment at every NFL championship game. 

How long is the halftime break in the NFL? The halftime break is 12 minutes, the same as the rest between sets. However, in the NFL Super Bowl, the halftime break is much longer. Since well-known celebrities are watching the show, you can expect the Superbowl’s halftime stoppages to last more than 30 minutes.

Third round

The game continues with the third round after a stoppage in between. Then start the 15 minute countdown. Next, there will be a 3-minute break after the end of the third round. Then the fourth quarter followed in the final 15 minutes.

So that’s 33 minutes for the first half, 30 minutes for the halftime break and 33 minutes for the second half. Therefore, you spend a minimum of 96 minutes or an hour and 36 minutes of gaming time.

Final round

If the final score remained equal at the end of the previous quarter, sudden overtime death would have occurred immediately. Previously, the official game time for the NFL was scheduled to be 15 minutes. But this rule was changed in 2017 and reduced to just 10 minutes. The first team to score within 10 minutes wins the game.

3. How long is the actual playing time in NFL games?

The NFL’s popularity is all the more remarkable when you examine the fares it has to offer each week on television. An average professional football game lasts 3 hours and 12 minutes, but if you count the time when the ball was actually played, the action lasted only 11 minutes.

Part of the difference concerns the basic rules of American football. Unlike hockey or basketball, the 60-minute clock in football can run even when the ball is not in play. That means a lot of game time is spent standing around or gathering before each playthrough begins.

A few years ago by the Wall Street Journal, 11 minutes of action was famously calculated. Its analysis shows that the average NFL broadcast spends more time on replays (17 minutes) than it does live. 

Much of the time (75 minutes) is spent watching the players, coaches and referees essentially loiter on the pitch. The average game in the NFL lasts only four seconds.

Of course, watching football on TV is hardly just the game. There are also lots of ads to show people. The average NFL game consisting of 20 commercial breaks contains more than 100 ads. The Journal’s analysis shows that advertising takes up about an hour, or a third, of gameplay.

The stop-and-go nature of football makes it especially important for advertising, unlike football, which forces broadcasters to creatively insert ads during the 45-minute run of the game. Broadcasts of NFL games in Europe, incidentally, include much less advertising.

4. Why does an NFL football game take so long?

The game clock is responsible for the length of a football game.

The clock management in the NFL game is the main reason why a game takes so long to complete.

Whenever there is a change in ownership, the clock stops and the sides change personnel, alternating between their 11-man offensive and defensive units.

Often, these stoppages while the clock stops are marked by commercial breaks as the NFL makes the most of its vast global reach. The average game has about 12 assets per team, with each change often welcoming a wave of TV commercials.

Factor in about two video reviews of controversial calls, penalties, three timeouts for each side, where they can choose to stop the clock and take a break with two minutes remaining at the end of each round and obviously to see the number of ads how the break time significantly increases the time to complete the game.

5. Are there overtimes in a NFL game?

As mentioned, the average NFL game takes 3 hours and 12 minutes to complete, but this can vary considerably.

In 2008, a game between the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts broke the 12-year record for fastest NFL game, finishing in 2 hours and 33 minutes while some games are known to last as long as nearly 4 hours. How can these times vary to such an extent?

Several factors speed up or slow down the game. When the ball is in the play area, such as a run or pass where the player is blocked in bounds, the clock will continue to run. 

If there are a few incomplete passes or plays where the ball carrier goes out of bounds, this will inevitably consume a large amount of the 60 minutes of the game as well as little rest time. more leisure.

Teams are also under no obligation to use up their timeouts, and if there is little change in ownership this would also shorten the proceedings somewhat.

6. Why are there stoppages in football games?

While commercial breaks have become an important part of the NFL game, they are only inserted into the game stages when the stops have occurred. For a British sports market accustomed to watching 80 or 90 minutes of continuous matches in rugby or football, the concept of American Rugby can be confusing.

It has been calculated that an average game only has 11 minutes of live football, and it is difficult to see why this needs to take about three hours to complete. But each of these plays lasts an average of just four seconds, and those four seconds are as explosive and eye-catching as can be imagined.

While a rugby player can stay on the move for 80 minutes and react to everything that’s going on, those four seconds of every rugby game are meticulously planned and require explosive effort. maximum.

The sport is often compared to a “physical game of chess” where each side rests between turns – they have 40 seconds from the end of one turn to the start of the next – to make their next tactical move to make the ball go deeper or stop their opponent.

7. How long does a football game last on tv?

Review and discussion time make the football games last long.

An NFL game on TV is another ball game. It’s not just about watching an American football game. Watching an NFL game on TV will put you through about 20 ad breaks, which can contain over 100 ads. Some analysts believe these TV commercials take up about a third of the game’s length or about an hour of screen time.

As a result, NFL games can last up to three hours and 30 minutes on TV. In fact, the record for the longest NFL game ever played is seven hours. Imagine, spending almost all of your waking hours just watching an NFL game?

Discussion Pregame

Typically, the TV broadcast of an NFL game begins with a small intro from the presenter. He will begin with a discussion with a number of analysts and retired NFL players about what to expect in the upcoming game. Usually, one or two ads will appear before the start of the match.

Review after the game

After the game, the host will start the post-game assessment. During this period, more time will be spent showing some video recap of the game that has just ended. Typically, a server will be brought into the arena to interview the game’s MVP and the winning coach, including the best losing player and coach.

Final Words

So, through this article, you already know how long American football games last. Unlike college football games, the time of Super Bowl games will be about 3 hours and 12 minutes. This happens because of the advertising time as well as the match review. Hopefully this answer about “how long are a football games” will help you know more about the rules of this tournament!