American football / Rule 01
The field
NFL · 2026In short
Playing area, end zones and goalposts.
Lines and dimensions
The field is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide. Between the goal lines are 100 yards of playing space, with an end zone 10 yards deep at each end. Yard lines, hash marks and boundary lines help officials place the ball and measure progress.
The goal
The goalposts stand in the plane of the end line, behind the end zone. The crossbar is 10 feet high and 18 feet 6 inches wide. A scoring kick must pass above it and between the uprights; the uprights extend 35 feet above the crossbar.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. Independent summaries of the supplied NFL 2026 rulebook; NCAA and IFAF rules may differ. The comparison covers standard 15-a-side rugby union.
Sources & approach ↗
Sources & approach ↗