How long are NFL games?
How long are NFL games? About 3 hours long, but the overtime rules vary for regular season, preseason, and playoffs.
The key differences are in overtime rules:
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Regular Season
- One 10-minute overtime period if tied after regulation.
- If still tied, the game ends in a tie.
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Playoffs
- Must have a winner, so they use 15-minute overtime periods.
- Teams keep playing new OT periods until someone wins.
- This can extend a game beyond three hours if it goes long.
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Preseason
- No overtime at all.
- If tied after four quarters, the game simply ends in a tie.
- The NFL removed OT from preseason in 2021 to cut down injury risk and time for games that don’t affect standings.
NFL Game Timing Basics
All NFL games are divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each, making a total of 60 minutes of game clock time. However, the game clock stops often (for example, after an incomplete pass, when a player goes out of bounds, or when a penalty is called). These stoppages, along with timeouts, instant replay reviews, and injuries, mean the actual game lasts much longer than 60 minutes. There is also a halftime break midway through the game (after the second quarter) that lasts about 12 minutes. TV broadcasts also include many commercial breaks – around 100 ads per game (about 45 minutes of commercials). Because of all these breaks, the average NFL game takes over three hours from start to finish.
Regular Season Games
In the regular season, an NFL game has four 15-minute quarters and usually lasts about three hours from kickoff to the end. If the score is tied at the end of the fourth quarter, the game goes into one overtime period of up to 10 minutes. If no team wins by the end of that overtime, the game ends in a tie. Tied games are uncommon – typically only one or two happen each season.
Playoff Games
Postseason (playoff) NFL games also have 60 minutes of regulation play (four quarters). They generally last around three hours as well, if the game is decided without overtime. However, playoff games cannot end in a tie, so the overtime rules are different. If a playoff game is tied after four quarters, the teams play an overtime period that lasts 15 minutes. If the game is still tied after one overtime, they continue with another 15-minute overtime, and so on, until a winner is determined. This means a playoff game can run longer than a regular season game if it goes into multiple overtime periods.
Most playoff games still finish in about three hours. One exception is the Super Bowl, which has extra events that prolong the game. For example, the Super Bowl features a longer halftime show and extra commercial breaks. As a result, recent Super Bowl broadcasts last roughly three and a half hours in total.
Preseason Games
NFL preseason games follow the same format as regular games: four 15-minute quarters with the usual stoppages. A preseason game also lasts close to three hours, similar to a regular season game.
The big difference in preseason is that there is no overtime period at all. If the score is tied at the end of the fourth quarter, the game simply ends in a tie. In 2021, the NFL removed overtime from preseason games to avoid unnecessary risk and keep players safe. Since preseason games do not count toward official standings, the league decided it was better not to play extra periods. This makes preseason game lengths more predictable, as they will not go beyond the standard four quarters.
References
- AS USA – How many quarters are there in a game of football?
- Pro Football Network – How Long Is a Football Game?
- FanSided (Stripe Hype) – NFL preseason overtime rules explained
- Fox News – Is There Overtime in the NFL Preseason? Rules Explained
Michael Simon
