Overtime ( sports ) Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw . In most sports , this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner , as in single - elimination tournament s where only one team or player per match can advance to the next round . In other sports , particular those prominently played in North America where draws are generally disfavored , some form of extra time is employed for all games . The rules of overtime or extra time vary between sports and even different competitions . Some may employ " sudden death " , where the first player or team who scores immediately wins the game . In others , play continues until a specified time has elapsed , and only then is the winner declared . If the contest remains tied after the extra session , depending on the rules , the match may immediately end as a draw , additional periods may be played , or a different tiebreaking procedure such as a penalty shootout may be used instead . The term " overtime " is primarily used in North America , whereas " extra time " is used in other continents . Association football . Professional association football play an extra 30 minutes , made up of two 15 - minute periods . Not all competitions employ extra time ; for example , CONMEBOL has historically never used extra time in any of the competitions it directly organises , such as the Copa Libertadores ( today , it uses extra time only in the final match of a competition ) . If such a game is still tied after extra time it is usually decided by kicks from the penalty spot , commonly called a penalty shootout . If the score remains level after extra time , the game is determined by a penalty shootout and the winning penalty shootout team are declared winners . In the late - 1990s and early - 2001s , many international matches employed the golden goal ( also called " sudden death " ) or silver goal rule , which is no longer employed . Beach soccer . In beach soccer , since there are no draws , if teams are level after regulation time , three minutes of extra time are played , followed by a sudden death penalty shootout . American and Canadian football . Professional . The NFL introduced overtime for the playoffs in 1941 , and started in pre - season games in 1955 . In 1974 , the NFL adopted sudden death overtime for regular season games . If the score is tied after regulation time has concluded , an additional 15 - minute period is played . The captains meet with the officials for a coin toss , and then one side kicks off to the other , as at the start of a game . The first team to score during the extra period wins the game . In the regular season , if the overtime period is completed without either side scoring , the game ends in a draw . Because there cannot be a tie in the playoff s , the teams switch ends of the field and start additional 15 - minute overtime periods until one side scores . The longest NFL game played to date is 82 minutes , 40 seconds ( and the Chiefs ' last - ever game at Municipal Stadium ) , Miami kicker Garo Yepremian kicked the winning 37 - yard field goal after 7 : 40 of double - overtime in the 1971 – 72 NFL playoffs . " In March 2010 , the NFL amended its rules for overtime after a vote by the team owners . If the team that wins the coin toss scores a touchdown on their first possession , they are declared the winner . If they score a field goal on their first possession , however , the opposing team is given possession of the ball and an opportunity to score ( in postseason ) ; if the score is tied again after that possession , sudden death rules apply and the next team to score by any method is declared the winner , and the number of additional 15 minute periods will not matter . If neither team scores there will be another overtime period to be played before resulting in a tie ( with exception of postseason , when the game will be played until a winner is declared ) . The rule change currently applies to postseason games . " The Arena Football League and NFL Europa used a variant in which each team is guaranteed one possession . Whoever is leading after one possession wins the game ; if the teams remain tied after one possession , the game goes to sudden death . This procedure was used by the United Football League in its inaugural 2009 season . The short - lived World Football League , for its inaugural 1974 season ( the same year the NFL established sudden death in the regular season ) , used extra time ( one full fifteen - minute quarter , divided into two halves ) . College , high - school , and Canadian football . In college ( beginning with the 1996 season ) and high school football , as well as the Canadian Football League , an " overtime procedure " is used to determine the winner . This method is sometimes referred to as a " Kansas Playoff , " or " Kansas Plan " because of its origins for high school football in that state . A brief summary of the rules : On two occasions , just two plays were required to determine an overtime winner in an NCAA football game . These occurred on September 26 , 2002 , when Louisville defeated Florida State 26 – 20 , and September 27 , 2003 when Georgia Tech defeated Vanderbilt 24 – 17 . It is possible for a college game to end after a single play in overtime if the team on defense secures a turnover and returns it for a touchdown . ( One example of a defensive touchdown ending the game occurred on September 9 , 2005 when Ohio defeated Pittsburgh 16 – 10 on an 85 yard interception return by Dion Byrum ; this occurred on the third play of overtime . ) Furthermore , it is possible ( but not likely ) that the defense may get a safety on the first possession in overtime , thus ending the game after only one overtime play . Because this would require the offense to go backward 75 yards , this is extremely improbable and has never happened in FBS . The short - lived XFL used a modified Kansas Playoff , where the series would start on the 20 - yard line and have four downs to score . However , if the first team to play overtime scored a touchdown in less than four downs , the second team would have to score in just as many plays ( for instance , if the first team scored a touchdown on three downs , the second team would only have three downs to score a touchdown ) . Neither team could kick a field goal until the fourth down . Rather than a coin toss , the winner of the opening scramble at the beginning of the game also got to choose to go first or second in overtime . Basketball . In basketball , if the score is tied at the end of regulation play , the teams play a five - minute overtime period . In levels below collegiate / Olympic play , an overtime period is half the length of a standard quarter , i . e . , four minutes for high school varsity . FIBA 33 , a formalized version of the halfcourt three - on - three game , uses two - minute overtime periods . The alternating possession rule is used to start all overtime periods under international rules while a jump ball is used under high school and NCAA rules , with the arrow reset based on the results of the jump ball to start each overtime . The National Basketball Association , which uses a quarter - possession rule to start periods after the opening jump , also uses a jump ball . The entire overtime period is played ; there is no sudden - death provision . The only exception is in FIBA 33 , in which the game ends by rule once either team has scored at least 33 points . All counts of personal fouls against players are carried over for the purpose of disqualifying players . If the score remains tied after an overtime period , an additional overtime period is played . As many as six overtime periods have been necessary to determine a winner in a NBA game . In exhibition games ( non - competitive play ) , it is upon the discretion of the coaches and / or organizers if an overtime is to be played , especially if it is a non - tournament game ( a one - off event ) . Starting in the 2009 – 10 season , ULEB , the organizer of the Euroleague and Eurocup , introduced a new rule for two - legged ties that eliminated overtime unless necessary to break a tie on aggregate . The rule was first used in the 2009 – 10 Eurocup quarterfinals ( which consist of two - legged ties ) , although no game in that phase of the competition ended in a regulation draw . ULEB extended this rule to all two - legged ties in its competitions , including the Euroleague , in 2010 – 11 . One game in the qualifying rounds of that season ( the only phase of the Euroleague that uses two - legged ties ) , specifically the second leg of the third qualifying round tie between Spirou Charleroi and ALBA Berlin , ended in a draw after regulation . No overtime was played in that game because Spirou had won the first leg . Although other competitions use two - legged ties at various stages , the ULEB competitions are the only ones known to use overtime only if the aggregate score after the second game is tied . Ice hockey . In ice hockey , if the score is tied at the end of regulation play , certain leagues play overtime . The 5 - minute overtime period was introduced for regular season games beginning with the 1983 – 84 NHL season , but with teams at full strength on the ice . Overtime in the regular season was reduced to four skaters a side starting in the 2000 – 2001 season . The " shootout " was introduced for the 2005 – 06 NHL regular season . Baseball and softball . Baseball and softball are unique among the popular North American team sports in that they do not use a game clock . However , if the regulation number of innings are complete ( normally nine in baseball and seven in softball ) and the score is even , the game continues for multiple extra innings as are needed to determine a winner . The only exception to this is in Nippon Professional Baseball , where the game ends in a draw after 12 innings if the score is tied . Ties are allowed to stand in the regular season ; postseason ties ( which happen after 15 innings ) must be replayed in their entirety . Rugby league . Rugby league games in some competitions are decided using overtime systems if scores are level at full time ( 80 minutes ) . One overtime system is golden point , where any score ( try , penalty goal , or field goal ) by a team immediately wins the game . This entails a five minute period of golden point time , after which the teams switch ends and a second five minute period begins . Depending on the game ' s status , a scoreless overtime period ends the game as a draw , otherwise play continues until a winner is found .