What are the Penalties in Football?

Penalties are an important part of the game and they have a huge impact on the game of football. If you have ever watched a football game, you may have been surprised at how many penalties there actually are. You also may have been confused on what some of the calls that were made as well.

Penalties have drastic impacts on a game and can impact the outcome of some games. Referees at all levels are important to the game, their calls can make huge impacts on the game, and sometimes change the outcome. Penalties in football are mostly subjective in nature, as fans and coaches voice their displeasure for many of the calls throughout a game.

There are many penalty calls that are similar no matter the level of play. There are other that change depending on the level of football being played, whether it is the NFL, college football, or high school football.

So, What are the Penalties in Football?

There are standard penalties that apply to every level of football. Here are a few common penalties that are true to all levels of play:

Holding
Offsides

Clipping
Offensive Pass Interference
Illegal Man Downfield

Delay of Game
Chop Block
Illegal Formation

Intentional Grounding
Encroachment
Face Mask

Defensive Pass Interference
Illegal Hands to the Face
Helmet to Helmet

Horse Collar
Roughing the Passer
Unsportsmanlike Conduct

All of these penalties apply to the different levels of football, but some are assessed differently depending on the age group. These also change every so often, some have always been assessed the same, but some have been tweaked along the way.

Our goal is to explain these penalties in depth and also point out the differences in levels of play. Some of these penalties are assessed the same, but others have drastic differences.

Offensive Penalties

Offensive Holding

Holding is one of the most common football penalties. This penalty is called when an offensive player grabs and pulls a defender. A player can not grab the jersey of the defender or get his hands outside the framework of the body.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Holding	10 yards	10 yards	10 yards

This penalty is assessed from the spot of the infraction and then marked off from there. You will see the referee throw the yellow flag as close as possible to the spot of the holding. This call is not reviewable under replay.

Here is a good video that explains holding:

Offsides or False Start

False start is an offensive penalty, and another very common infraction. These happen at least once a game, and many games it does happen more often than that. This happens when an offensive player moves before the ball is snapped by the center. This also can occur if the offensive player is in a 3-point stance and lifts his hand off the ground before the ball is snapped.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
False Start	5 yards	5 yards	5 yards

A false start penalty is called before the play can begin. iIf an offensive player jumps before the snap of the ball, the whistle is blown and the play is dead. The penalty is assessed from the spot of the ball, and is five yards at every level of football.

Clipping

This penalty is an offensive penalty that occurs when a player blocks a defender from behind, and it happens at or below the waist. This is a large infraction of 15 yards, and therefore is a pretty bad penalty to have assessed.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Clipping	15 yards	15 yards	15 yards

This penalty is not as common as block in the back, as this infraction occurs at or below the waist. 15 yards is the largest of all penalties in football, and this is because it truly is a safety issue for players that are clipped.

Offensive Pass Interference

This offensive penalty is a rather large one as well, and is not as common as defensive pass interference. This penalty occurs when a pass has occurred and the offensive player makes contact illegally with the defensive player prior to the football getting there.

This penalty has different assessments for every level and is as follows:

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Offensive Pass Interference	10 yards	15 yards	15 yards. This penalty used to be loss of down, but only prior to 2013

In high school football, prior to 2013, this was the most penalized call in football. This penalty used to be 15 yards and loss of down. Since 2014 and beyond, the down is now replayed and no longer a loss of down.

Illegal Man Downfield

This is an offensive penalty that occurs during a pass play. On any pass play, there are 5 players that are on the offensive line that can not go down field at all. This penalty occurs when any of the five offensive linemen release to the second level before the ball is thrown.

Here is a video, broken down to explain an ineligible receiver downfield:

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Illegal Man Downfield	5 yards	5 yards	5 yards

This penalty is not all that common in football, but definitely has become more common recently. Offenses are running RPO’s, which are plays where the offense does not predetermine a pass or a run. On these RPO’s, many times the linemen release automatically, and if the play ends up being a pass, there are offensive linemen downfield.

One question that people have often is regarding a screen pass. On a screen pass, offensive linemen do release down the field, but the pass is caught behind the line of scrimmage, making this a legal play.

The penalty for illegal man downfield is only five yards, and as a result many teams are willing to take the risk.

Delay of Game

Delay of game occurs when the ball is not snapped by the offense in the allotted time allowed. Each level is a little bit different as far as a play clock. In the NFL, college football, and high school football, the clock is now 40 seconds from the whistle of the previous play.

High school just switched this as it was previously 25 seconds after the ball was spotted. This was also the case for college football prior to 2008.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Delay of Game	5 yards	5 yards	5 yards

Delay of game can also occur on the defense, typically this may happen towards the end of a game. This is typically called when the offense is trying to hurry, but the defense impedes them from getting back to the line of scrimmage.

Chop Block

A chop block penalty is the result of a player that blocks below the waist while another player is blocking the same defender above the waist. This block is often called a high-low block and is illegal.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Chop Block	15 yards and ruled a safety is it occurs in the endzone	15 yards	15 yards

This block can be dangerous and hence the assessed yardage is 15 yards. A cut block is legal, but only can happen with one player. Two players blocking one defender is also legal, but both players must be blocking above the waist.

Here is a good video explaining the chop block:

Illegal Formation

On offense, there must be a minimum of seven players on the line of scrimmage. If there are less than seven, this is an illegal formation. Similar to this and assessed the same yardage is called illegal procedure; this occurs when one of the five interior linemen are not lined up properly with the other interior linemen.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Illegal Formation	5 yards	5 yards	5 yards

This is a small penalty, but the offense, if in an illegal formation, does not get a chance to run a play. This penalty is assessed from where the ball was spotted.

Intentional Grounding

Intentional grounding occurs when a quarterback throws the ball away, not towards a teammate to avoid a sack or to conserve time. This penalty is most strict in high school. Quarterbacks in high school can not ground the ball ever, even if outside the tackle box. The NFL allows a quarter to ground the ball if outside the tackle box.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Intentional Grounding	10 yards or spot of foul, whichever is further from the line of scrimmage and loss of down	Spot of foul and loss of down	5 yards from the spot of the foul and loss of down

This penalty usually comes with some argument as the subjectivity of this penalty comes into play because the referee must make a decision if the throw was towards a receiver or not.

Defensive Penalties

Encroachment

Encroachment is when a defensive player crosses the neutral zone before the ball is snapped. The neutral zone is the imaginary line that runs along the width of the football before it is snapped. In the NFL encroachment is called when a defender makes contact with someone on offense or he has a clear path to the quarterback. In high school, as soon as the player crosses the neutral zone it is encroachment.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Encroachment	5 yards	5 yards	5 yards

Encroachment is a very common penalty in football, at all levels.

Face Mask

Face mask penalty occurs when a player grabs an opposing face mask. This is a safety rule and in high school there is a difference between incidental grasping and twisting. This is a common penalty in football. In high school, this penalty is assessed for grabbing any part of the face mask, and includes the chin strap as well.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Face Mask	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards and automatic first down	5 yards if incidental grasp, 15 for more severe, usually twisting

Defensive Pass Interference

Defensive pass interference occurs when a defender makes contact with a player who is trying to catch a pass prior to the the ball getting to the offensive player. Any sort of impeding, contact, or grabbing is considered interference. The pass must be a forward pass in order for interference to be called.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Defensive Pass Interference	Spot of foul or 1 yard line if occurring in the endzone. Automatic 1st down	15 yards and automatic first down or 2 yard line if occurring in the endzone	15 yard penalty and the down is replayed

This penalty is common at all levels of football, especially in the NFL and college where passes are thrown more frequently. The assessment is different at each level and can be confusing to keep straight.

Illegal Hands to the Face

This penalty is thrown when a player uses his hands to make contact with an opposing player in the face, helmet, or neck area. This penalty is a safety issue and usually occurs from a lineman trying to keep a player from rushing.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Illegal Hands to the Face	10 yards if committed by offense, 5 yards and automatic 1st down if committed by defense	15 yards and automatic first down	10 yards

This infraction is not as common at the high school level. We do see this in college and especially in the NFL more often than at the lower levels of football.

Helmet to Helmet

This penalty is very subjective and is now being reviewed at the NFL and college levels. The game of football has come under serious scrutiny because of safety. Concussions are a hot topic in football, and at all levels, there has been a lot of rules and procedures put into place in an attempt to limit head injuries. Helmet to helmet is a rule that is enforced heavily at all levels, and has helped decrease head injuries drastically.

If a player makes contact with another player in the head, and the crown of his helmet is down,

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Helmet to Helmet(Targeting)	15 yards and the play goes to review for ejection from the game	15 yards and the play goes to review for ejection. If the foul occurs in the 2nd half, and ejection is deemed appropriate, the player is suspended for the 1st half of the next game	15 yards

The NFL and NCAA have taken huge steps to limit helmet to helmet contact. This penalty is a huge infraction and impacts a team in huge ways if players are ejected. There is a lot of subjectivity to this rule and after reviews have taken place, it sometimes still seems to be subjective in nature, but has a lasting impact on a team and program.

Horse Collar

Horse collar is a defensive penalty that is called when a defender tackles a player by the back of the shoulder pads and drags the player down to the ground. This is a penalty that is intact because of safety reasons.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Horse Collar	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards

Roughing the Passer

This occurs when a player on defense hits the quarterback after the throw has been made. This is a subjective call, but most of the time, it is called correctly. The game of football has become a safety net for quarterbacks and rightfully so. The quarterback is protected more than any other player in the game, especially at the NFL level. In the NFL, a defender is allowed one step before contact with a quarterback. If there are two steps taken, roughing the passer is called.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Roughing the Passer	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards and automatic first down

This penalty in college and high school is assessed on the end of the play, if the pass was completed. If the pass is incomplete, the 15 yards are marked off with an automatic first down. This is a huge safety rule and is keeping quarterbacks safer, which is a good thing for the game at all levels.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Unsportsmanlike conduct is a penalty that is assessed because a player or coach says something that is deemed inappropriate. There is no contact made for unsportsmanlike conduct. If contact is made, the penalty is ruled as a personal foul. This rule is to keep the game as pure as possible and to eliminate issues of fighting as well as excessive celebration.

Penalty	NFL Yardage	College Yardage	High School Yardage
Unsportsmanlike Conduct	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards and automatic first down	15 yards

The NFL is attempting to clean up the game, although there is still quite a bit of celebrating that occurs following a great play. The NFl is probably the most relaxed with this, as penalties are thrown more often at lower levels for unsportsmanlike conduct.