Safety ( gridiron football score ) In gridiron football , the safety ( American football ) or safety touch ( Canadian football ) is a scoring play which results in two points being awarded to the scoring team . Safeties can be scored in a number of ways , such as when a ballcarrier is tackled in his own end zone or when a foul is committed by the offense in their own end zone . After a safety is scored in American football , the ball is kicked off to the team that scored the safety from the 20 yard line ; in Canadian football , the scoring team also has the options of scrimmaging the ball from their 35 - yard line or kicking the ball off themselves . This differs from the touchdown and field goal , which result in the scoring team surrendering the ball to the opposition through a kickoff . Despite being of relatively low point value , safeties can have a significant impact on the result of games , and Brian Burke of Advanced NFL Stats estimated that safeties have a greater abstract value than field goals , despite being worth a point less , due to the field position gained off of the safety kick . Safeties are the least common method of scoring in American football , but are not rare occurrences — since 1932 , a safety has occurred once every 14 . 31 games in the National Football League ( NFL ) , or about once a week under current scheduling rules . A much rarer occurrence is the one - point safety , which can be scored by the offense on an extra point or two - point conversion attempt ; those have occurred at least twice in NCAA Division I football since 1996 , most recently at the 2013 Fiesta Bowl . No conversion safeties have occurred since at least 1940 in the NFL . A conversion safety could also be scored by the defense in a score in college football ; although this has never occurred , it is the only possible way a team could finish with a single point in an American football game . Scoring a safety . American football . In American football , a safety is scored when any of the following conditions occur : Canadian football . In Canadian football , a safety touch is scored when any of the following conditions occur : Resuming play after a safety . American football . After a safety is scored , the ball is put into play by a free kick . The team that was scored upon must kick the ball from their own 20 - yard line and can punt , drop kick , or place kick the ball . In professional play , a kicking tee cannot be used – however , a tee can be used in high school or college football . Once the ball has been kicked , it can be caught and advanced by any member of the receiving team , and it can be recovered by the kicking team if the ball travels at least 10 yards or a player of the receiving team touches the ball . Canadian football . After scoring a safety touch , the scoring team has the option of scrimmaging from their own 35 - yard line , kicking the ball off from their 35 - yard line , or accepting a kickoff from the 25 - yard line of the team that conceded the score . If a kickoff is chosen it must be a place kick , and the ball can be held , placed on the ground , or placed on a tee prior to the kick . As in American football , the ball must go at least ten yards before it can be recovered by the kicking team . Elective safeties . In American football , intentionally conceded safeties are an uncommon strategy . Teams have utilized elective safeties to gain field position for a punt when pinned deep in their own territory and to run down the clock at the end of games so as to deny the other team a chance to force a turnover or return a punt , Teams have also taken intentional safeties by kicking a loose ball out the back of their end zone , with the intent of preventing the defense from scoring a touchdown . Elective safeties are more common in Canadian football , where they can result in better field position than a punt . The 2010 Edmonton Eskimos surrendered a Canadian Football League ( CFL ) - record 14 safeties , a factor that led CFL reporter Jim Mullin to suggest increasing the value of the safety touch from two to three points as a deterrent . Conversion safety . In American football , if what would normally be a safety is scored on an extra point or two - point conversion attempt ( officially known in the rulebooks as a try ) , one point is awarded to the scoring team . This is commonly known as a conversion safety or one - point safety and it can be scored by the offense . There are at least two known occurrences of the conversion safety in Division I college football — a November 26 , 2004 game in which Texas scored against Texas A & M , and the 2013 Fiesta Bowl in which Oregon scored against Kansas State . In both games the PAT kick was blocked , recovered by the defense , and then fumbled or thrown back into the end zone . Coincidentally , play - by - play commentator Brad Nessler called both of these games . No conversion safeties have been scored in the NFL since 1940 , in part due to the ball becoming dead as soon as the defense gains possession . The only scenario a one - point safety could be scored in NFL play would involve the defense kicking or batting a loose ball out the back of the end zone without taking possession of it . In college football , a conversion safety could also be scored by the defense . To accomplish this , the kicking team would have to retreat all the way back to their own end zone and then fumble the ball out of it or be tackled in it . While such a conversion safety has never been scored by the defense , it is the only possible way in which a team could finish with a single point in an American football game .