Football Field Dimensions and Ball Sizes by Age
How big a football field really is, how the markings change from high school to the NFL, and which ball a child should be throwing at each age.
Two questions come up whenever someone lines a field or buys a ball: how big is it supposed to be, and which size do I need? Here are the answers in one place.
The full-size field
An American football field is 120 yards long and 53� � yards wide — that is 360 feet by 160 feet. The 120 yards break down as a 100-yard playing field plus a 10-yard end zone at each end.
- Yard lines cross the field every 5 yards and are numbered every 10, counting up to the 50 from each goal line.
- The goalposts sit on the end line, at the back of each end zone. The crossbar is 10 feet off the ground.
- The playing surface, end zones included, is 57,600 square feet — about 1.32 acres.
What changes by level
The field itself is the same size at every level of 11-a-side tackle football. Two things change:
| High school | College | NFL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance between the hash marks | 53 ft 4 in (the field is split into thirds) | 40 ft | 18 ft 6 in |
| Width between the goalpost uprights | 23 ft 4 in | 18 ft 6 in | 18 ft 6 in |
The hash marks matter more than they look. Every play starts on or between them, so the wide high-school hashes leave a huge "wide side" of the field to attack, while the narrow NFL hashes keep the ball near the middle. It is one reason the same play can look so different on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
Smaller fields
- Flag football (5-on-5) is commonly played on a field about 30 yards wide and 70 yards long, including two 10-yard end zones. See our flag football rules guide.
- Youth tackle leagues often shorten and narrow the field for the youngest age groups — typically to 80 yards or less. The exact size is set by the league.
- Backyard and pickup games: pace out something roughly twice as long as it is wide and agree on the end zones before anyone scores.
Which size football?
Footballs come in four main sizes. Manufacturers label them slightly differently, and the age bands overlap on purpose — hand size matters more than birthdays.
| Size | Common name | Typical ages |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Pee Wee | about 6–9 |
| 7 | Junior | about 9–12 |
| 8 | Youth | about 12–14 |
| 9 | Official | 14 and up — high school, college and pro |
An official ball is roughly 11 inches long and about 22 inches around the middle; college and high-school balls are a touch smaller than the NFL ball and carry white stripes that the NFL ball does not.
How to tell if a ball is too big
If a child cannot get the fingertips of the throwing hand onto the laces with the ball resting against the palm-side pads — not the palm itself — the ball is too big. A ball that is too large teaches a pushing, shot-put motion that is hard to unlearn. When in doubt, size down. A good spiral with a smaller ball transfers up; a bad habit does not go away.
Leather or composite?
- Composite balls are cheaper, grip well in the wet and need no breaking in. They are the right choice for almost every recreational player.
- Leather game balls feel better once prepared but arrive slick, need conditioning, and hate rain.
More on what to buy — and what not to bother with — in the gear guide. Working on the throw itself? Start with how to throw a spiral.